Ash's Journey Through Sinnoh
by Aisu-Kaze-Kage-Raikou
Summary: My take on Ash doing some serious changing before leaving for Sinnoh. Smart Ash! Overpowered Ash! Eventual Aura Ash! Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the Plot! Some of the ideas in it are mine though. I think. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone. I'm back. I have a habit of writing a story and then not finishing them (Not just the ones on this site). I won't promise that I'll finish them (Which probably makes you not want to read this) but I will continue as long as I'm interested in writing it.**

 **Now, this is just a bit of an Overpowered Ash. But don't worry if you don't like that. He will primarily use the Pokémon he catches in Sinnoh, unless he gets into a hard spot, or wants to teach a lesson or press a point.**

 **If I'm using something from another story, then I'm sorry. I found many stories with this type of Plotline so I don't know who to give credit to.**

 **Anyway, I'm keeping you from the story. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, only the OC's that I put in (If - and that's a big** ** _if_** **\- I put any in, of course) are mine.**

 **Edit: 8/03/17. I toned down some of the things in here and added others, as well as fixed some general mistakes. Sorry if you don't like it, but I think that it's best.**

Ash was eating dinner with his mother, Gary and Prof. Oak after coming back from his second Journey around Kanto so that he could defeat the Kanto/Hoenn Battle Frontier, when suddenly his mother sat up straight in her seat.

"What's the matter, Mom?" Ash asked.

"Oh, I forgot! You received a letter and Package from Charles Goodshow after your defeat of Brandon! I'll go get them!" Delia said, leaving the kitchen only to come back moments later with a large box and letter, setting them on the table in front of Ash.

He set his finished dinner plate aside and opened the letter.

 _'Dear Ash Ketchum, I hope that this letter finds you in good health! I have written because after winning two Championships you have been gifted with the title 'Ace Trainer'. That is quite the Promotion, I assure you. With this Promotion comes a raise in your carrying limits. You may now carry up to twelve Pokémon, outside of the Training case that you have also been gifted. The case allows you to carry sixty Pokémon at a time, but it is ONLY for training! You will also find a full Training kit, Prize Money, a Master Ball that every Champion gets, a Keystone along with the Mega Stones for some of the Pokémon that you have that can achieve Mega Evolution._

 _If you do not know what Mega Evolution is, do not worry. So far not many people outside of the Champions and Regional Professors know about it. I'm sure that Prof. Oak won't mind filling you in. You will also find the latest model of X-Transceiver, an entire set of Evolutionary items and a Pokémon and Pokémon egg from every Champion and Frontier Brain. With this you are also granted access to Mt. Silver. Congrats, my boy! You have made quite the achievements what with you only being fifteen!_

 _This Promotion is not the only one you have. You have also been granted title of Pokémon Ranger seeing as you helped out with saving the world many times, such as with the baby Lugia, Phione, Celebi, Lugia, Moltres, Suicune, and Zapdos, and I heard that you were involved with stopping that planet killing storm on New Island._

 _On behalf of the entire Pokémon World, I would like to thank you. There is Money to compensate your Promotions, also a thanks for you being our Savior._

 _But be warned, with these Promotions means that you are 'on call' for when we need you, Major or Minor. But it also means that you can go pretty much anywhere. Inside the box are your official badges to signify you as such. Do not lose them! Well, good luck, Ash Ketchum. Prof. Oak will answer any questions that you may have._

 _Sincerely, Charles Goodshow, President of the Pokémon League.'_

If Ash hadn't already been sitting down he would have fallen down from shock. "Wow!" he breathed.

"What is it, Ashy Boy?" Gary asked curiously, seeing his friend and former rival and his Pikachu sitting there in shock.

Ash handed the letter over and the other three read it, becoming just as shocked as the Promoted Trainer.

Soon that got overridden for Delia as she squealed in happiness and pulled her boy into a bone crushing hug, telling him how proud she was. He got released moments later.

"Well? Open the box!" she demanded.

With a shaking hand because of excitement, Ash opened the box to see fifteen different checks sitting on the top with the reasons for them being given written on them. He gave them a glance and stopped in shock, his jaw hitting the floor after seeing the amounts on them.

"One Million Dollars on each of them?! That's a lot of money! There's no way I deserve that much!" he sputtered.

His mother handed them to Oak so that they could be put into Ash's account later.

He dug further after getting over the shock of it. Too bad that that wouldn't be the only shock that he would get. Next was the X-Transceiver. Oak gasped. Ash looked at him, confused. "What is it, Professor?" he asked.

"That model that you're holding there Ash is a Champions X-Transceiver! It has not only a GPS and Alarm function, but it also serves as a Pokedex! But not only that! It also acts as a Pokémon Transporter!" Oak said.

Once again, Ash was shocked. But he got over that quick and strapped it on. He found the Badges for his Promotions next and pinned them onto his jacket. Looking at them, he noticed that one said, "Advanced Ace Trainer? What does that mean, Professor?" he asked.

Again, Oak looked shocked. "It means that you are a more experienced Ace Trainer than normal ones. They must really think highly of you to have given you that rank!" he said.

Numb with the repeated shocks, Ash just reached into the box again and pulled out two Master Balls. "Huh? Why two?" he asked, confused.

"Because you won two Leagues," Gary explained this time.

Ash nodded and placed them in his bag. He took out three Pokeballs that contained Pokémon from the Champions and Frontier Brains. Then he pulled out fifteen eggs in incubators.

Confused at this, he was about to ask when he saw a note pinned to one of the Incubators. _'Sorry, but not all of the Pokémon that we planned to give you hatched before we gave them to you. Please still count that as one Pokémon and one egg from each. Also, you may be wondering why all of the Champions and Frontier Brains are doing this for you, right? Well, it's for two reasons. One: we trust that you will take care of all of them properly. Two: we are hoping that with this gift you will be able to raise these Pokémon well enough to give us a challenge. Take care.'_

He accepted this and moved on.

He then reached in and pulled out the Mega Items and the last item out of the box: a bag that held the Evolutionary items.

"Let's go outside so that you can release the Pokémon from their balls," Prof. Oak suggested.

Ash agreed and they all finished dinner before heading outside so that Ash could release the Pokémon.

Out came a Dratini, a Beldum, and a Gible.

They looked at him curiously as he knelt down to their level. He gave them a smile. "Hi! I'm your new Trainer, Ash Ketchum. Did they tell you where you would be going?" he asked.

They nodded and they handed him a note that each was holding, either in a paw, mouth or were holding using their psychic powers.

He took them and read them. They were basically congratulations and telling him who gave him who. Lance had given him Dratini for example, Steven the Beldum, and Cynthia the Gible. The notes also said that these Pokémon and the Eggs came from Champion Breeding Lines, meaning that they would be very strong and had lots of Egg Moves and most had Hidden Abilities and would be able to develop other Abilities, so long as he trained them well.

Once done reading, he smiled at them again. "I'm on the road to become the Strongest Pokémon Master ever. Would you like to join me on that Journey?" he asked them.

He received cheers and nods in return. They liked what they'd seen of their new Master and their old Trainers had spoken highly of him, so they had no problems with going with him on his Journey, or obeying him. But they had one final shock for him.

Gible caught his attention by pointing to the backs of the notes for him to find nine more checks, three on each, from each Champion or Frontier Brain. Each had one and a half million on them, which, while Ash was recovering from his shock, his mother took and handed them to Prof. Oak.

Ash added up the checks in his head. The first fifteen checks added up to fifteen million dollars, added with the nine checks of one and a half million made another thirteen and a half, added together that was twenty eight and a half million dollars!

"But I don't deserve that much just for becoming Champion of two Championships and saving the world many times! They didn't have to do that! I mean, heck! Potions are only two hundred dollars each! That's a lot of supplies that I could buy! Combined with the money I've already made from battling and entering the Leagues, and the money that Dad's put into my account every week since a year before my Journey and continuing into my Journey and even now, that's a lot of money! It's not fair for me to be that rich!" he exclaimed.

The three onlookers laughed. "Only Ash would protest to getting more money!" Delia said through her laughter.

"True!" Gary and Oak agreed.

Ash shook his head. "Well, we'll train later. Return for now!" he said to his new Pokémon and he returned them to their Pokeballs.

They walked back inside where Oak borrowed Ash's X-Transceiver for a minute while he used it to deposit Ash's checks into his account and to put all of Ash's contacts into the phone app.

"Well, Ash, where are you going next?" Oak asked when he was done, giving it back to Ash.

"Well, I was thinking that because I ended the Frontier Challenge early, and the Sinnoh League won't open until three months from now, that I would train. I can think of many ways that I could have done much better in my battles and I didn't. So I'm going to train to iron out those problems," Ash said.

His mother and the two Oaks looked proud of him. "That's using your head! Good job, Ash!" Prof. Oak said.

Ash blushed. "Thanks. I guess that I just thought that it was time to really train and train hard. I want to keep winning the Leagues and to do that I need to really kick up the training!" he said.

"I'm so proud of you, Ash! Your Father will be so proud of you too!" Delia said.

"You really think so?" Ash asked.

"I know so! In fact, why don't we call him?" she asked.

Ash's eyes widened. "Really?! Talk to Dad?" he asked.

She nodded with a bright smile.

Ash grinned wide. "I'd like that!" he said.

So they went over to the video phone, the two Oaks saying farewell for the night. Delia dialed up Ash's father's number.

After a few rings a man with long, messy, gray-silver hair picked up. Upon seeing who it was, he grinned. "Delia! Ash! How nice to see you! Ash, I'm so proud of you! I've been watching your achievements these last few years and I'm really impressed with you! But what's this? The badges for an Advanced Ace Trainer and a Pokémon Ranger? What are those for and when did you get them?" he asked.

So that was the opening for a rather long tale of the past few years of Ash's adventures.

Needless to say, Ash's father was very proud of Ash. "Well, my little Ash, all grown up! So, met any girls yet? What about that Misty or May?" he asked.

"Daaad!" Ash whined.

"Silver, he's too young for that!" Delia defended.

Silver raised an eyebrow. "We were dating at fourteen. He's fifteen now, a full year older than we were when we were dating! And you're telling me that he doesn't have a girlfriend?" he asked.

"Dad!" Ash protested.

Silver laughed. "Okay, Ash. Okay. I won't tease you anymore. Well, it's late and we all need to sleep. Especially you if you're really going to get even more serious about your Pokémon training. Good night, Dear, Ash," he said.

After they said their goodbyes, they hung up and went to bed themselves. Ash and Pikachu couldn't wait for the next day.

III

The morning light seeped through the window, waking a certain Electric Mouse up. He looked tired for a minute before he remembered that they got to training today! He looked at Ash, who was still sleeping. He nudged Ash's shoulder. When he didn't wake up, Pikachu tapped his face. When he still didn't wake up, well, in Pikachu's mind it was time for a shock.

"Chu!" he said, firing a Thunderbolt at Ash. He watched in disbelief as Ash slept through it for a few seconds before sighing.

"Alright, Pikachu. I'm up. You didn't have to shock me. Not that it works real well anyway. I've been shocked so many times that it doesn't affect me anymore," Ash said, sitting up.

Pikachu cut out the Thunderbolt and placed Ash's hat on his head. The message was clear: it was time to get going. They had things to do today.

Ash got dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, a jacket that was a lot like the one he had at the beginning of his Journey, except it was crimson instead of blue. He pulled on his fingerless gloves that were black, but the trim was crimson, matching his jacket.

He strapped on his new belt that held twelve Pokémon in it. Then he walked downstairs. If he was going to be an Advanced Ace Trainer and Pokémon Ranger then he was going to act the part.

His mom looked up as he entered the kitchen. "Ah, Ash! Another package came for you!" she said. "It's on the table!"

Ash looked at the table and saw another large box sitting there. He opened it and pulled out the letter that was on top.

 _'Dear Advanced Ace Trainer and Pokémon Ranger Ash Ketchum, I hope this letter finds you well. You see, we here at the Pokémon Ranger Institute have recently learned from Charles Goodshow about your Promotions. As such you need the supplies to be a good Ranger and Ace Trainer._

 _In the box you will find your Capture Styler, a full set of Pokeballs, excluding the Master Ball, a full set of Healing Items for your Pokémon and the Signature Pokémon Ranger Jacket. Though in this case we have given you one of the Jackets that has been made for those who are both Rangers and Advanced Ace Trainers._

 _You also have a Mission from us. It's quite simple. Inside you will find the Pokeball of a Pokémon that came to us and signaled to us that he wanted to go with you. The Mission is thus: raise him and evolve him into his final Evolution and still have him listen to you._

 _Good luck, Ash. You have respect from all of us._

 _Sincerely, Jake Mason, Pokémon Ranger.'_

Ash shook his head and picked up the other letter that was in the box.

 _'Dear Advanced Ace Trainer and Pokémon Ranger Ash Ketchum (Boy, that's a mouthful!), I hope this letter finds you well. We here at the Ace Trainer Facility have long wanted you to join us, and finally we have you in our clutches! (Evil laughter). Nah, not really evil._

 _Anyway, inside you should find the Jacket of an Advanced Ace Trainer and Pokémon Ranger. You will also find a full set of Pokeballs, minus Master Ball, a full set of Healing Items, an app for your X-Transceiver that is a detailed map of all Regions including the Migration Paths of all Pokémon that we know about and an egg and Pokémon. Don't worry, we believe that you can handle it._

 _You will also have a Promotion check from both the Facility and Institute. No more than half a million each._

 _You also have your first Mission from us. There is a Pokémon breaking the power lines in Cerulean City and we need someone to stop it. We have chosen you for this Mission._

 _Good luck, kid._

 _Sincerely, Keith Davies, Advanced Ace Trainer.'_

Ash set that down, shocked but excited. He quickly grabbed the egg and placed it with the other fifteen. Then he placed the Items in his bag, noticing as he did so that each set had about twenty of each item.

He then took the Pokeballs and went out side to let them out. He could feel one of the Pokeballs quivering with excitement.

"Come on out!" he called, holding out the Pokeballs to release them.

Out came two Pokémon, one that he was very familiar with and who tackled him in a hug. "Lar! Vitar! Larvitar!" it said.

Ash laughed and hugged him back. "Well, what do you know? Welcome back, Larvitar! I missed you! Did you miss me?" he asked.

Larvitar nodded, his head buried into Ash's chest, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Hey now, don't cry! You don't need to cry," Ash said, rubbing Larvitar's head to calm him down.

"Larvitar," Larvitar said, stopping his tears with difficulty. That didn't make him let go of Ash, so Ash picked him up and turned to the other Pokémon.

It was an Absol. "Hi, I'm Ash! I'm your new Trainer. I hope that we can be friends!" he greeted.

"Sol! Absol!" Absol barked, happy that his new Trainer wanted to be friends as well as his Trainer.

"Great! We'll do some training later. For now, Return!" Ash said, recalling the Pokémon. Larvitar showed no signs of letting go, so he returned to the kitchen with Larvitar still in his arms.

Delia looked over at them and grinned. "I see that you have Larvitar back with you! That's nice!" she said.

Ash grinned back. "Yeah! Apparently, he showed the Rangers that he wanted to go with me, so here he is! And I'm glad he's here!" he said.

Larvitar grinned happily, happy to have pleased his Trainer, Friend and Father. Because that's what Larvitar thought of him as.

Ash set him on the table as he rifled through the box. He pulled out the app and scanned it into his X-Transceiver. He found his Capture Styler and placed that in a slot on his belt. He found the checks and sighed before scanning them into his X-Transceiver, knowing that if he didn't his mother would.

Lastly he pulled out his new Jacket. It was mostly a crimson color, but the trim on the bottom was a green and the zipper was black. With that, though the letters had not mentioned it, came a pair of black shorts with yellow trim on the bottom, a pair of black pants with the same yellow trim, and a Black T-shirt.

He smiled and ran up to his room to put them on. Upon doing so he noticed that his hat did not fit with the image, so he put it aside sadly.

Running back downstairs he looked through his Mega Items. He saw an earring with a Keystone in it. He put it in right away, ignoring the sting that came with making an earring hole with the hole puncher that came with it.

Then he looked through his Mega stones. Charizardite X, Gardevoirite, Galladite, Pidgeotite, Sceptilite, and Raichunite.

Well, that's odd. He didn't have a Gardevoir or Gallade. He looked at the eggs. Maybe one of those was a Ralts egg and they didn't know if it was a boy or girl and so didn't know which form he'd evolve it into and so gave him both? It was possible.

As for the Raichu Mega stone... He saw Pikachu stare at it intently. He smiled reassuringly and scratched him behind the ear.

"Hey, it's alright. I know that you don't want to evolve, so I won't force you just because I have a Mega stone for you," he said.

Pikachu looked up at him and smiled. "Cha!" he said.

Ash chuckled. He put the things back into his bag and stood up. "Come on, we've gotta make some calls and then set out on collecting a few Pokémon," he said.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder. Ash recalled Larvitar and clipped the ball to his belt.

"Well, for one, I promised Pidgeot that I'd come back for her. Seeing her Mega stone reminded me. It's late, but better than never!" he said.

"For another, I really miss Lapras. I was thinking about going to try to get her back. And as for Primape, Squirtle, Haunter and Charizard, well, I'd like to see if they'd like to rejoin the team!" he said.

Pikachu perked up. He'd like that! He was ready to get going!

Stepping outside, Ash dialed Officer Jenny, the one who had his Squirtle.

One quick call later and it was revealed that Squirtle had wanted to come back anyway.

Another quick call later and he got Haunter back. Another and he got Primape. The last call, when he said that he was going to train on Mt. Silver, got Charizard ready to go with him. He was really psyched.

He then went out into the forest in Route one to search for Pidgeot. About an hour later of fruitless searching he ordered Pikachu to fire a Thunderbolt straight up to call Pidgeot.

Minutes later they heard a cry and Pidgeot flew down to her old Trainer. She settled down on the ground a few feet away. She was looking at Ash with just a bit of hurt in her eyes. He understood.

He walked up to her until he was right in front of her. He looked her in the eyes. "Pidgeot, I know that I've made a lot of mistakes concerning you, but I've come to fix them. I came back for you just like I said I would. Yes, it's late, I know, but I never forgot you. The reason that I didn't come to get you sooner was because I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be with me anymore. I was afraid that you'd want to be here more than with me. I can see that those fears were silly now. I'm sorry," he said.

Pidgeot looked at her old Trainer in shock. He didn't come back because he was afraid that she wouldn't want to go with him anymore? All these years she had the secret fear that it was because he didn't want her anymore, and he had the same fear? She wrapped her wings around her Trainer in a hug. It looked like both of them were being silly. She laid her fears aside as he hugged her back, tears running down his face.

"I'm really happy to see you, Pidgeot!" he sobbed.

She cawed softly and preened his hair. She was happy to see him as well.

He pulled back a minute later and held up her old Pokeball, a hopeful smile on his face. "So, what do you say, Pidgeot? You wanna rejoin the team?" he asked.

There was no hesitation as she pecked the button and got sucked in, the ball pinging in success without a fight.

He grinned from ear to ear, then let her out. She looked at him, waiting for an order.

"Alright, Pidgeot! We need to go to Seafoam Island! That's where the Migrating Lapras stop every year. They should be there right now, and I want to see if Lapras will rejoin us!" Ash said.

She nodded and let him onto her back, making sure that he had a firm grip before she launched herself into the air, heading for Seafoam Island.

Minutes later, with Ash swearing that Roller Coasters would never hold any excitement for him ever again, they got to the Island. He immediately got to work searching for Lapras.

A displacement in the air made him turn in time to see a Water Pulse being fired at him and dodge it. He looked to see the source and saw a herd of Lapras surround them.

One in particular stood out as it walked towards him, eyes shining with happiness and excitement. "Pras!" she called.

Ash, upon recognizing her, laughed and hugged her. "Hey, Lapras! How are you doing, girl? Is your herd stronger now?" he asked.

"Lapras!" she said, nodding with a smile.

"That's great! Listen, I wanted to know, would you be willing to rejoin my team? You don't have to, if you'd rather be with your herd. I'll understand, I promise," he said.

She seemed happy as she nodded. He laughed. "Great!" he said and re-caught her in her old Pokeball. "Glad you're back, girl," he said.

He looked at the herd. "Hey, sorry for taking her from you, but I'm sure that you can manage, right?" he asked.

They nodded, showing no hard feelings.

He thanked them and left, flying back to Pallet in minutes. She let him down in Oak's Corral. He immediately found Bulbasaur who was walking around a small lake.

"Bulbasaur!" he called.

The Seed Pokémon looked up at the familiar voice and grinned upon seeing who it was. "Bulba!" he said, running up to Ash.

Ash bent down to rub Bulbasaur's head. "Hey, buddy! Can you call the others together for me?" he asked.

Bulbasaur nodded and fired an incomplete Solar Beam from his bulb. Soon enough, all of Ash's Pokémon were surrounding him and ready to hear what he would say, _after_ Charizard fired a Flamethrower at him, Bayleef tackled him, and Primape punched him, though looking disappointed that there was no hat to steal.

"Alright, guys, we have some training to do! After I complete my Mission we are heading off to Mt. Silver to train! There are some really strong Pokémon there and only the best Trainers get to go there! Now, I won't call myself great, but you guys are! We have three months to train until the Sinnoh League starts up so that we can collect Badges, so until then we will train! How about it, guys?" he asked.

All those there cheered. Then Ash noticed something. Only one Tauros was there. The main one that he used in all his fights. He asked why that was and the answer came back that they didn't feel that they were included in this, making him feel guilty.

Oak came out and offered him the chance to transfer them to him so that they could stay on the Ranch and not be away from each other. Ash thought that it was a great idea and talked to the other Tauros, who agreed. All but nine anyway, and they wanted to battle.

"Well, I suppose that we can put them on the GTS, the Global Trading System, so that you can trade them for more Pokémon of types that you don't have yet," Oak suggested.

Ash nodded. "What do you mean, types I don't have yet?" he asked.

"Well, you do not yet have any Fairy, or Psychic types. So why not try to get some?" Oak asked.

Ash thought about it and nodded. They entered in his trading information for the system.

"There, you're all set. I'll send them to you when they come in and you can choose whether to trade or not," Oak said.

"Thanks, Professor. Well, I'll head out on my Mission now. Then it's straight to Mt. Silver for me!" Ash said and he went back into the Corral after loading his Training case with his Pokémon's Pokeballs, with them in them, of course. Except for Pikachu and Pidgeot, the latter going to fly him to Cerulean.

He mounted and got straight to it.

III

The Mission went pretty quickly. All he had to do was circle the City in the air for a bit before he spotted the trouble makers, then he landed and challenged the two to a battle.

The Scyther and Magneton accepted, eager to go back to the wires that they were chopping down so that Magneton could feed.

He called out Charizard and the battle ended rather quickly with him catching them and placing them in his case. He then spent a bit of time with Misty, catching up, before heading off to Mt. Silver.

III

When he arrived he recalled Pidgeot into her Pokeball and stepped up to the gate that would allow him entrance. Two guards were blocking his entrance. He smiled at them. "Hi. My name is Ash Ketchum. Here's my pass authorizing me to go in," he said, handing over his pass.

One of the guards looked it over and nodded, scanning it into the system and then putting it in their files. "You're all set, Mr. Ketchum. You may now come and go as you please," he said.

"Thanks!" Ash said and he walked through the gates and onto the path of Route 28.

He looked around in awe of seeing all of the Pokémon that were here. Most ignored him, knowing that Trainers did come occasionally. And knowing one Trainer that stayed year round at the top of the Mountain.

A few however turned to him, ready to attack if he did. Only one attacked him.

"Watch out for that Rhyhorn, Pikachu! Use Iron Tail on its head" Ash commanded.

Pikachu jumped over the head of the charging Rhyhorn, then brought his glowing tail hard down onto its head.

This dazed the Rhyhorn for a second before it shook its head and got back up, angrier than before.

Ash smirked, liking the challenge. "Well, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get! Pikachu, get close with Quick Attack, then use your speed to hit it with Iron Tail!" he ordered.

"Pika!" Pikachu said and he did as ordered. He sent the Rhyhorn flying back into a tree. The tree fell over and the Rhyhorn got back up.

'Well, he's a strong one!' Ash thought.

He saw the Rhyhorn charge at Pikachu with Take Down. "Quick, use Agility to dodge! Then use Double Team to confuse him! Then finish it up with Double-Edge!" he ordered.

Once again, Pikachu did as ordered. He winced from the Recoil damage as the Rhyhorn was sent crashing into another tree, and they waited to see if he would get up. To their great surprise, he did. He was severely beat up, and was barely standing, but he fired off a Rock Throw.

"Climb them to the top, then jump and use your momentum to bring another Iron Tail down on his head!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu nodded and began to climb the rocks that were thrown at him until he was a good distance above its head, then his tail glowed as he jumped, using his momentum to spin around and slam his tail onto the Rhyhorn's head, finally knocking it out.

"Pokeball, go!" Ash called as he threw the Pokeball that he'd been holding. It hit the Rhyhorn's side and sucked it into the ball. It rocked three times before it dinged, signifying capture.

"Yeah! We did it! Good job, buddy!" Ash said, picking up the Pokeball and putting it in his case.

Looking at how tired Pikachu was he said, "We need to train a lot more if we're going to stand up to the Pokémon that are in here. And the Pokémon inside the Mountain are even tougher!"

Pikachu nodded, agreeing.

What both ignored was that Pikachu should not have done so well against a Rock type from the trail leading up to Mt. Silver. This was probably a good thing as it firmed up their drive to get stronger.

And so that was the beginning of his three months of Training.

III

During those three months was a lot of training and Missions. He could now defeat most of the Pokémon in Mt. Silver and the surrounding easily. Still, he couldn't defeat all of the Pokémon of that guy up on the Mountain, who introduced himself as 'Red'. He could get through three out of six, but then the guy pulled out his Pikachu and all of his Pokémon would go down.

That was until their last match, where he had taken down the Pikachu. And then Red had pulled out his Charizard and it was all over.

His Missions consisted of helping out around the Mountain, the surrounding area, and most of Kanto. He often wondered why no one else could take care of them when he took care of it so easily.

Doing those Missions he caught a Kangaskan, a Nidoking, a Nidoqueen, an Alakazam, a Houndoom, a Gyarados, a Flareon, a Jolteon, a Vaporeon, an Espeon, and an Umbreon.

From his trades he got a Clefairy, a Sylveon, a Tyrunt, a Zangoose, a Duskull, a Zorua, a Porygon(Which had been holding an Up-grade, so it evolved), a Fennekin and a Bergmite.

From the Eggs hatched a Ralts, another Ralts(One was a girl, the other was a boy. Pretty lucky for him), a Litwick, a Honedge, a Torchic, a Rufflet, a Mudkip, a Skarmory, a Trapinch, a Bagon, a Swablu, a Riolu, a Goomy, an Axew, a Deino and an Elekid.

After a month had gone by he'd been able to start training them safely, so he did. Most of his Pokémon, old and new, evolved into their first or final Evolutions by the end of the training time.

So now he had sixty seven Pokémon that he was Training. Seeing as the Case held sixty and his belt held twelve, and Pikachu stayed outside his Pokeball most of the time, that meant that only five of his slots were not filled. Well, that could be filled soon with his upcoming Journey through Sinnoh.

He'd be keeping six of his old Pokémon with him, that way he kept six slots open for any new Pokémon that he'd catch.

As he finished strapping things on and getting ready, he turned to Red and smiled, holding out his hand to shake, which Red did.

"Hey, thanks for helping me train and for being willing to battle me a lot," he said. "I still have a long way to go until I can catch up to you," he added.

Red listened to the last part with disbelief. A long way? This kid here had taken three months – three! - and was able to defeat all but Charizard and Venusaur in those same three months, where many others trained for years and still couldn't come close!

He smirked to cover it up. "You're welcome, kid. But I must say, either you're strong or I've gotten weaker sitting up in this Mountain doing nothing," he said. Nothing but Training, that is.

Ash laughed, throwing aside the compliment. "Nah! You're making a Mountain out of a Molehill!" he said.

Red smirked. "So, kid, where are you heading now? Off to another Region? Another League?" he asked.

"Yeah, the Sinnoh League! I may have lost all the others, but this time I'm gonna win!" Ash said, clenching his fist in determination.

Red nodded. "Well, Ash, I guess that this is goodbye for now. Please come see me when you come back to Kanto," he requested.

Ash nodded back. "I will. Well then, see ya later, Red!" he said, picking up his pack, leaping off the Mountain and letting out Pidgeot to catch him after he'd fallen a bit, enjoying the rush.

Red shook his head in amusement as a smile played on his face. 'I hope you like my gift, Ash. Good luck. Do what I didn't. Don't give up on humanity. You are the only human that I'm putting my trust in. Don't fail me,' he thought as he turned and walked away.

III

As they were flying to Pallet for a quick goodbye before he set out on his next Journey, Ash looked at his best friend: Raichu.

He still didn't quite get why Pikachu decided to Evolve, but got the gist of the matter. Pikachu had seen all of the others get much stronger, while he was hitting a barrier.

Bulbasaur and Squirtle had found the same problems, so they Evolved and their Evolutions blew the limits off of their past abilities, making them much stronger.

So, faced with that, and really wanting to Mega Evolve, he took one of Ash's Thunderstone's and used it to Evolve.

Immediately he felt stronger. He tested it out and had fainted Rhyhorn with one strong Thunderbolt. After that he couldn't wait to try out Mega Evolution!

So, now he had a Raichu. A very strong Raichu at that. One capable of defeating Rock types in one hit with an electric attack.

He smiled and looked towards Pallet that was now almost under them, so Pidgeot tucked herself into a dive, pulling out of it just in time to land in Oak's Corral.

He let out all of his Pokémon and congratulated them and thanked them for their hard work before he went inside, telling them to take a nice long rest.

Stepping into the Lab and into Oak's office, he found Gary there too. He stopped in shock. "Gary? I thought that you were in Sinnoh!" he exclaimed.

Both Oaks looked up as he said this and smiled at him.

"Well, I came to see if Gramps would shed some light on my area of study. What about you? How are you doing? Defeat any strong Trainers yet?" Gary asked.

Ash shook his head sheepishly. "No, but I was close to defeating his Charizard!" he said.

That made them both curious. "Who's Charizard, Ash?" Prof. Oak asked.

"Oh, Red's! He's up on Mt. Silver and he helped me train by battling me often!" Ash said.

"THE Red?! Well, that you came close to defeating ANY of his Pokémon is a cause for celebration! Don't be upset that he beat all of your Pokémon with just one of his," Prof. Oak said in a comforting voice.

Ash blinked. "What do you mean? The only Pokémon that I couldn't defeat was Charizard and his Venusaur! The rest were no slouches, but I defeated them!" he said proudly.

Both Oak's had their jaws scraping the floor. "Y-You mean that you almost beat him?!" Oak asked.

Ash looked confused. "Yeah. What's the big deal? I know he's strong, but what's so great about him?" he asked.

"Ash, Red is the Strongest Champion ever known and the Greatest Pokémon Master so far! He was so good that he retired to the top of Mt. Silver because no one was giving him a challenge anymore! That you defeated even one of his Pokémon is a marvelous achievement! That you defeated FOUR! Is a matter of a great Celebration!" Gary said, wondering how such a strong Trainer could be so stupid.

Ash froze. "Wait. He's _that_ Red!?" he asked.

The two Oak's breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have gotten through at last. They nodded. "Yes, Ash. He's _that_ Red," Oak said.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Ash said.

"Yes it is. But don't you need to get going? The ship leaving for Sinnoh is going to be leaving in a few hours, so you'd best get going!" Oak said.

"Yeah. I just gotta say goodbye to mom first," he said, already having the Pokémon that he would be bringing with him on his Journey clipped to his belt.

He quickly said goodbye to the two Oak's and Tracey, then left to go say Goodbye to his mother, who told him to call her at least once a week and reminded him to change his underwear every day.

"Moooom! I know that by now!" he said, greatly embarrassed, picking up the food his Mom had made for him and placing it in his pack. Which, he noticed, didn't seem heavy or full at all. Determined to look into that later, he turned to his mom, who looked teary eyed.

"Oh, I know, dear. It's just, it's a Tradition now, right?" she asked, giving a weak giggle.

So he smiled for her. "Right!" he said.

She pulled him into a hug. "I'm going to miss you! Well, go on, Ashy! Go get 'em!" she said, pushing him out the door.

Waving goodbye he let Pidgeot out of her ball and mounted. She launched into the air and started for Vermilion City.

III

It had been a great day, very relaxing. He sat on the deck of the ship just watching the smaller of his Pokémon play. Pidgeot, because she was so large, was resting next to him. One of their number was still being watched very closely, but so far he seemed sincere in his wanting to change and be part of the team: Meowth.

And not just any Meowth. Team Rockets Meowth.

See, while waiting for the ship to leave Jessie, James and Meowth came to stand in front of him, lacking a uniform. He was getting ready to blast them away when he saw rings on Jessie and James' left hands.

He had smiled at them. "Glad to see you finally had it set in stone," he had said.

They had looked shocked, before James had smiled and pulled Jessie into his side. "Yeah. Jessie and I decided to quit Team Rocket and settle down. For awhile she didn't think I meant it. Punched me a few times before I made her see I meant it," he had said, chuckling.

Jessie had blushed and apologized.

Ash had settled back in his seat, still ready to defend if need be. "So, considering that we've helped each other before, I assume that you need something?" he had asked.

They had nodded. Meowth had stepped forward, looking nervous. "I-I want to get stronger. I think that you're the best person to make me strong. Please, may I be your Pokémon?" he had asked.

Ash had been shocked. Then he looked over Meowth critically. His fur was unbrushed, unwashed, and matted in places. He had obviously not been taking care of himself out of his nervousness.

That had made him realize that they were not pulling a trick on him. They were being sincere.

"Are you sure? You don't want to stay with Jessie and James?" he had asked.

Meowth had looked at the two adults sadly, but looked determined. He looked back at Ash. "I'll tell you the real reason I want to go with you. One day these two nut heads are going to have kids, and _I_ need to protect the kittens! And to do that, I need to be strong! Nobody could make me stronger than you. Please take me with you!" he had said, shocking Ash more.

He had looked at Jessie and James, who were blushing at Meowth's statement, but both nodded in agreement with his words.

He had looked back at Meowth and slowly nodded. He had pulled out a Pokeball and caught Meowth, who put up no resistance to being captured.

Ash had clipped the ball onto his belt after letting Meowth out to say goodbye. Once recalled, Ash looked Jessie and James in the eye. "I promise that I'll make him strong and then return him for you. Watch out for my battles because he may just be used. You need to keep an eye out on his growth as he's doing this for you and your future children. Just, one favor?" he had asked.

"Name it," James had ordered.

"Teach your children well. Don't let them make your mistakes. Please, promise me," Ash had plead.

They had smiled. "That's easy. We promise," Jessie had said.

Ash had smiled back. "Thank you," he had said.

A little bit later as he was boarding the ship, Jessie called out to him. He turned to them when he was on the deck.

"Yeah?" he had called.

"Two more things before you leave!" James called.

"Yeah?" he had asked, grinning.

"One, good luck on your new Journey!" Jessie had said.

"Thanks! And the other?" Ash had asked.

"Will you be our kid's Godfather?" James had asked.

While severely shocked, Ash had grinned from ear to ear. "Of course I will! Thank you for that honor!" he had said.

By now the ship was pulling out of port.

"You're welcome! Thank you! Take care of him! Goodbye!" the former Rockets had said.

He waved to them, a big grin still on his face, the ship now too far away to say anything that they would understand.

He was determined to help them. But he couldn't start training Meowth yet while he was on the ship. It would have to wait until he got signed up for the League.

He knew that Meowth would be strong. He had a year and a half to become so afterall. He would help him realize his dream to be strong enough to protect his future Godchildren.

He still felt extremely shocked and happy that they'd asked him to fill that slot. He promised himself that he would do his best to be a good Godfather to their future children.

"Boss?"

He looked up to see Meowth standing there, looking nervous. He sighed. Try as he might, Meowth insisted on calling him 'Boss'.

He smiled reassuringly. "What is it, Meowth?" he asked.

"Well, I wondered, since you're such a good Trainer and all, could you help me with my problem of being unable to perform Pay Day?" Meowth asked.

Ash smiled wider. "Sure, Meowth! No problem! Why are you having trouble with it?" he asked.

"Well, I think that it's because I learned how to speak human tongue. Someone told me that, anyway," Meowth explained.

Ash snorted. "That's not likely. It has to be something else... I know! Meowth, how do you feel about others of your kind and your Evolved form, Persian?" he asked.

Meowth scowled. "I don't like them! Actually," here he looked like he was about to admit a humiliating secret. "I'm kinda scared of them. I don't want to be like them!" he said.

"And why is that?" Ash asked gently.

So Meowth explained about his being kicked out of his Pride, making Ash nod in understanding.

"So, do you think that this not wanting to be like them is what's stopping you from learning other moves of your species? Especially your species signature move?" Ash asked kindly.

Meowth paused in thought. Then he nodded. "I never thought about that before, but yeah. I think that might be it!" he confessed.

Ash reached down and rubbed Meowth's head and scratched behind his ears, making him purr. "Then I suppose that we need to work past that if you want to get stronger so that you can protect my future Godchildren," he said.

Meowth nodded in determination. "I will! I promise!" he said firmly.

"Good. Look, I can see Sinnoh! We're almost there! Come on back, everyone!" Ash commanded, recalling back all but Raichu and Meowth, both of who climbed onto his shoulders. Raichu took the right one while Meowth took the left.

Now, while before those three months happened Ash might have had trouble with the weight. But now he didn't even feel it, being very fit, lean and strong. Heck, he had a six-pack! That alone showed how much he worked out!

He got off the ship soon after that, taking his first step onto Sinnoh. He smiled as he saw the Starly flying overhead when he raised his head to the sky.

Soon after that he started onto the path towards Sandgem Town.

III

Meanwhile on another path a young ten year old was making her way to Prof. Rowan's lab to collect her Starter.

III

"Aahhh!" Ash heard from somewhere off to his right in the forest. Not pausing to think he rushed into the forest in search of the person who screamed.

The scream came again from right ahead of him about thirty seconds later. Moments later he rushed into a clearing beside a lake.

The one who screamed was a girl who looked like she was a new Trainer, seeing as she held a Piplup in her arms to protect it. Well, both of them would get eaten if he didn't do anything.

A group of about a dozen Ariados were converging on the girl, all firing Sludge Bomb or Poison Sting.

He moved into action right away. "Meowth, stand in front of the girl and use Protect! Raichu, use Thunderbolt to take down those Ariados!" he ordered calmly.

Both Pokémon launched into action immediately upon his ordering them. Meowth had been taught Protect by a TM that Ash had. It was one of those new ones that weren't used up by one use, so he had used it on all of his Pokémon.

Meowth jumped in front of the girl and her Piplup and raised a green barrier just in time to stop the attacks launched by the Ariados.

Raichu meanwhile had fired a Thunderbolt at the wild Ariados, causing them to be hit and faint.

Ash debated catching one, but didn't really want such an aggressive Pokémon on his team, so decided not to. Instead he turned to the frightened girl.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked gently, seeing as she might just be in shock.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks for the save. I would have been a goner without you there!" she said, sitting up, looking up at him with awe clear on her face.

He smiled as Meowth and Raichu returned to his shoulders. "Not a problem. I'm glad that you're alright. Is your Piplup alright?" he asked with concern, bending over to look at the Water type.

"Huh? Oh! He's not mine. I was searching for him for Prof. Rowan because he and a Chimchar escaped. I just saw the Chimchar being brought back to the lab by a Staravia, so that's one less to look for!" she said, smiling at the end.

"Nevertheless, yours or not, is he okay?" Ash asked.

The girl looked at Piplup. "Are you okay, Piplup?" she asked.

The proud Pokémon stuck his chest out. "Pip Lup!" he said, arrogantly.

Ash laughed. "Glad you're fine. Still, we should get you back to Prof. Rowan before he starts to worry, and so that we can get you checked out," he said.

The girl and Piplup nodded and she stood up. She smiled at him. "My name's Dawn Berlitz by the way! What's yours?" she asked as they walked back to the lab.

Ash chuckled. "Ash Ketchum. I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto," he said.

"Wow! So far away? Why are you in Sinnoh then?" she clamped her hands over her mouth, realizing that sounded rude and demanding. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be so rude!" she said.

She was stopped from any further apologies by Ash chuckling. "Hey, it's no problem. I know you didn't mean for it to sound that way! I'm in Sinnoh because I wanted to meet new people and Pokémon, see new places and compete in another League. One that I hadn't lost, preferably," he said.

"What? You lost? But your Pokémon are so strong and well trained! How did you lose?" she asked, confused at how this strong (And handsome, but she didn't want to admit that) Trainer had lost a League.

He laughed cheerfully. "Well, the Indigo League I lost because I was inexperienced and my Charizard wouldn't listen to me and so I lost the match," he started.

Charizard still felt bad about that after realizing what he'd cost his Trainer in that match. To this day he put 120% in every battle, even against weak opponents, to make up for that loss, even though Ash said that that wasn't necessary.

"The second League I competed in, I won. I'm the newest Champion of the Orange Islands. Johto and Hoenn, well, I got cocky and arrogant about it and it cost me my matches, placing me in the top eight in each of them. Still, I defeated Brandon of the Battle Frontier just three months before I came here," he said.

"Wow! So you really are strong! I can't wait to see you in a real battle!" she said excitedly.

He chuckled. "Well, if you go to my Trainer Profile you can watch all of my Official Battles. Though I apologize ahead of time for some of the lackluster battles that you will see," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"I find it hard to believe that any of your battles are lackluster. Your mastery over your Pokémon in that battle was simply amazing!" she said.

Ash chuckled again, feeling no desire to tell her of his Promotions. "So, Dawn, are you traveling to compete in the League or the Grand Festival?" he asked.

"The Grand Festival! My dream is to be a Top Coordinator!" she said happily.

She was reminding Ash of May and Meowth of Jessie with her attitude.

Ash laughed again, though not with any malice in it, not like he was mocking her either, so she just looked at him in confusion. He seemed pretty easy going, and he seemed to like to laugh a lot.

"I've competed in Contests before as well, so how about I help you out a bit? I'll show you the ropes and then when you're ready to go out on your own you can travel on your own if you want?" he asked.

"Wow, really?! Thank you! How far have you gotten in Contests?" she asked, happy to have found a mentor.

He blushed. "Well, I may have tied with my friend May at the Grand Festival in Kanto," he said, almost as if he'd rather not admit it. Why though she didn't know.

"That's awesome! I'll be glad to travel with you!" she said.

They were on the road by this point, when a truck pulled up beside them and out came, "Brock!" Ash exclaimed happily.

"Hey, Ash! Who's this lovely young lady?" Brock asked, greeting them.

"This is Dawn Berlitz! She's traveling with me until she gets the hang of how Contests work," Ash explained to one of his oldest friends.

Brock smiled, happy to have a new friend. "Nice to meet you! Any friend of Ash is a friend of mine! My name is Brock Harrison," he introduced himself.

"Well, either you know each other or you're too friendly, Brock!" said a female voice said from inside the truck.

"Ah, this is my friend Ash and our other friend, Dawn!" Brock said with a lovestruck grin on his face.

"Well, howdy! My name's Claudina! I'm the driver of this big rig!" the woman said.

"Claudina and I are on the road to true love!" Brock said in a quiet voice to Ash.

Ash looked confused. "In a truck?" he asked.

"It's a long road, Ash and many ways to traverse it!" Brock said.

Raichu and Dawn sweatdropped at this statement.

The ringing of a phone caught their attention. Claudina picked up her cell phone and answered it, smiling almost immediately. "Hi, Honey! I was waiting to hear your sweet voice!" she greeted.

To make a long story short, Brock got his heart broken again and left on the road with Ash and Dawn. Only then did he notice Raichu and Meowth.

"What? Pikachu evolved? Why? I thought that he didn't want to! And you have a Meowth? You know, he looks an awful lot like Team Rocket's Meowth. Wait a minute, it is that Meowth! Ash, you have some explaining to do!" Brock said.

So Ash explained everything about getting Meowth and Raichu's evolving. Though he kept the information that he was the Godfather of Jessie and James' children to himself, to make it a surprise for later.

They had exchanged numbers so that they could keep in touch and so that Ash could be informed upon him becoming a Godfather.

When he was finished, Brock looked shocked, but he took it all in stride. He peered at Meowth. "Well, I suppose that if Ash trusts you then I can too. Welcome to the team, Meowth!" he said.

Meowth was truly shocked. "Wait, you're forgiving me for all that I've done to you over the past five years?" he asked.

"Yeah. Can't speak for Misty though, considering how many holes you made her fall into. She can really hold a grudge, and since she really hates falling into holes... well, you're on your own," Brock said with a grin.

"No," Ash contradicted. They all turned to him, despite Dawn being shocked that Meowth really could talk. "He's not on his own. He's part of my family now and I will protect him. I will stand by him, through thick and thin," he continued.

"You're right. Sorry, Meowth, Ash," Brock apologized.

They smiled and brushed the apology off. They had made it to Prof. Rowan's Lab by now. They entered to see the Professor restoring order.

He turned upon hearing them enter and spotted the Piplup in Dawn's arms. "Ah, Dawn! So it seems that you found Piplup afterall. That's good. Who are your friends? I feel like I should recognize the young man, but for the life of me I can't," Rowan said, frowning in thought.

"I'm Brock Harrison," Brock introduced himself.

"I'm Ash Ketchum," Ash said, introducing himself.

Rowan snapped his fingers. "Ah, yes! The rather remarkable young man who beat Pyramid King Brandon of the Kanto/Hoenn Battle Frontier, taking down his three Legendary Pokémon! Also the youngest Advanced Ace Trainer and Pokémon Ranger in history! Well, my boy, that's quite impressive! Weren't you also the youngest to be allowed to enter Mt. Silver?" he asked.

As Ash nodded Dawn couldn't help but feel awed. She knew what those were and she couldn't help but feel impressed that her Mentor was a person of great achievement.

"The battles are on my Trainer Profile if you care to see them," Ash offered.

He realized he was talking to an almost empty room. Empty except him and Brock, of course. He followed them to Rowan's computer to find that they were already watching his fight with Noland's Articuno. He beat it, then lost. After that they watched his first, second and third battles where he beat Brandon's Regirock, Registeel, Regice, Dusclops, Ninjask and Solrock.

They looked at him when it was done with impressed looks on their faces. "What? It was no big deal," he said, not getting the point of their impressed looks, having fought and dealt with even better. "I'm not trying to brag, but look at these videos," he said, clicking on a few videos so that they could be watched back to back.

They watched as he fought Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Deoxys, Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres, and others and defeated them. They turned to him, speechless and very impressed and some were in awe.

"Well, Ash, it would seem that you have this League in the bag," Prof. Rowan said, turning back to the videos. One video caught his eye. "Hmm? What's this? Ash VS Red? No, not _the_ Red?" he clicked it and his eyes widened as he watched Ash battle Red. From the very first battle where he'd beat only one of Red's Pokémon to the last battle where he'd defeated all but Charizard and Venusaur.

He seemed too shocked to move at first, then he, too, turned to look at Ash with awe. "You, young man, better not disappoint my expectations of you! You better win that League or I will think that those wins were a fluke!" Rowan said.

Even Brock was unable to speak out of awe. Only one person wasn't, and not because the battles weren't awesome, because they were, but because she didn't know who Red was. So she asked and it got explained and then she, too, was looking at Ash with awe.

On the inside she was celebrating. She had a really strong Trainer as a Mentor! She was really lucky!

Ash looked embarrassed. "It wasn't that great. Those victories only came with my strongest Pokémon. I'm sure that there are plenty out there who are stronger than me," he said modestly.

'When you're using new Pokémon, maybe,' was the collective thought running through everyone's heads.

Ash looked at the sky. "Well, Dawn should choose her first Pokémon before it get's any later. I want to head out before noon," he said.

They nodded and followed his suggestion, having much more respect for this Trainer than they had before. So Dawn was soon standing before the three Sinnoh Starters.

"Here are the Starters from Sinnoh. They are: Chimchar, a Fire type," Rowan said. Said chimp got into a pose that basically said 'pick me!' "The one that you saved earlier is Piplup, a Water type." Said Penguin crossed his arms over his chest as if he didn't care if Dawn didn't pick him. Ash saw through it, of course. "And the last is Turtwig, a Grass type. Now you get to choose who you will take with you to start off your Journey," Rowan finished.

Dawn smiled and didn't hesitate. "Piplup!" she said. Chimchar fell down from his pose, looking at her in disbelief. Dawn walked over until she stood in front of Piplup. "We already had an Adventure, huh, Piplup? It's my hope that we'll have many others. Though hopefully not as dangerous," she said, picking up the Penguin.

Piplup cheered and hugged Dawn out of happiness.

Rowan smiled at her. "Well, that settles it. Here, take your Pokedex and these Pokeballs," he said, handing her the mentioned items.

She took them with a smile and pocketed them. He gave her a few more instructions, then the group left.

III

On their way down the road they didn't notice a boy about Ash's age with purple hair looking down on them with an arrogant expression from on top of a small hill. He smirked. "That Trainer looks strong. He still won't beat me, but my Pokémon should gain plenty of experience from the battle," he stated arrogantly. Then he turned and walked away.

III

 **Bet that you didn't see Jessie and James making Ash the Godfather of their children coming! Meowth being given to him has been done before, but I bet that that twist was my own! Although if it wasn't then I'm sorry for taking credit for your idea, despite not having read it.**

 **Thank you to those who told me that Shadow Lugia was from a game, it was helpful and I edited that correctly.**

 **I actually don't need many more Pokemon for Ash. I think that he'll have plenty for each Region now. Thank you to everyone who gave me ideas for Pokemon.**

 **I know that plenty of you are going to Flame me for many of the things I've put in here. But they won't phase me. I will just ignore them because you just sound stupid when you leave a Flame.**

 **Edit: I'm actually surprised that I got NO Flames whatsoever. Thank you all for that!**

 **Also, those who are worried about Ash receiving so much money, don't worry, I have big plans for it.**

 **Hopefully I explained things well enough this time.**

 **If any of you have any ideas for this story I will consider them.**

 **Thanks again for the help and reading this story!**

 **Aisu signing off!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, I'm back. Sorry for the really long wait. I had writers block on this story for a while, but I have ideas for this story again, and I'm not even finished with the third idea (I have six so far) and I'm already five pages into the third chapter!**

 **I hope that everyone likes this chapter. I worked really hard on this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Keeping it simple.**

Ash was looking up when he caught sight of a Starly flying down onto a branch of a tree along the path. That in itself wasn't odd. What was odd was that it was all alone. Only Starly's that wanted to get much stronger left their Flock.

That settled it then. He would capture the bird.

"Meowth, Battlefront!" he said.

Though seemingly shocked that he was chosen, Meowth instantly obeyed. He stood in the bird's path. He meowed a challenge to the Starly and it braced itself to fight.

It moved first, attacking with a Wing Attack.

Meowth freaked for a moment, memories of being beaten by Ash and his friends flashing through his head. But then he firmed up, knowing that the same boy who kept beating him was now his Trainer and wouldn't let him get hurt. The moment he ordered something he would obey.

"Meowth, spin to the left and get behind him! Then hit him in the back with Fury Swipes!" Ash ordered.

Meowth instantly obeyed, trusting his Trainer. He spun until he was right behind the Starly, claws already powered up for the Fury Swipes, leaving no time for the bird to dodge or counter.

Starly gave a cry of pain as he was sent crashing into the ground. As Meowth was marveling over the feeling of landing a hit the Starly pushed itself up. It launched itself at Meowth with a Quick Attack.

"Protect!" Ash barked.

Meowth raised the green barrier just in time for the bird to slam into it and bounce off of it.

"Follow up with your own Quick Attack combined with Tackle!" Ash called.

Meowth started running, at first on two feet, and then on finding that awkward with the attack, on all fours. He slammed into Starly with the combo, knocking it to the ground and out cold.

Ash threw the Pokeball that he was holding at the Starly. It hit the Pokémon and sucked it in. the ball rocked two times and then pinged, signaling capture.

Meowth picked up the ball and brought it to Ash, receiving some pats for his efforts. "Good job, Meowth! That was great!" Ash said.

Meowth had a wide grin on his face. "I won! I won!" he cheered.

"Rai Raichu!" Raichu congratulated.

"Thanks, Raichu!" Meowth said, getting back to his spot on Ash's shoulder.

They were about to continue when a boy around Ash's age, but with shoulder length purple hair and coal black eyes, walked out of the woods to stop in front of them, turning to face them as he did so.

He looked at Ash with contempt. "Hmph! Why bother capturing such a weak and pathetic Pokémon? There are plenty of other Starly's out there that are much stronger," he said.

Ash stood calm. He'd dealt with an arrogant Gary and Drew and many other arrogant people. He could deal with one more.

"I believe that any Pokémon can become strong if you raise and train them right. I mean, come on, I made a Caterpie into a strong Butterfree and Caterpie are noted as being some of the weakest Pokémon out there," he said.

'No offense to you, Butterfree. Sorry,' he thought.

"Yeah. I'm still humiliated from losing to that guy," Meowth mumbled.

The purple haired guy just snorted. "I don't care for weak Pokémon. I only care for the strong ones! If they're not strong then I don't have time for them," he said.

That got Ash angry. Here was a guy who might abuse his Pokémon simply because they were weak and then release them. He didn't know it, but his eyes took on a silverish-blue sheen, making the kid just a bit nervous before he firmed up.

"Care to back that up with a Pokémon Battle?" Ash asked.

The boy smirked and nodded. "I was hoping you'd ask that. I'll show you that it's only strength that matters! Torterra, Stand by for Battle!" he said, calling out his Pokémon.

Ash thought for a minute before pulling out one of his Pokémon from his belt. He smirked. "Let's see how you like this. Wartortle, Battlefront!" he called.

Wartortle came out with his signature sunglasses, a purposefully cocky and arrogant smile on his face, hoping to anger his opponent.

He hadn't evolved into Blastoise yet because he wanted to reach his limits as a Wartortle first. Only then would he evolve into Blastoise, not a moment sooner.

"The name is Paul Shinji. And you are? Not that it matters," the kid asked.

Ash smirked, despite feeling irritated by this kid. He was over being angry, but this kid rubbed him the wrong way. "Ash Ketchum," he introduced with a mocking bow.

Paul looked amused and angry at the same time. "This battle will be over pretty quickly if you're using a Water type against my Grass type. And yours isn't even fully evolved! Torterra, finish this quickly! Sunny Day followed by Solar Beam!" he ordered.

Ash smirked. "Wartortle, Skull Bash!" he ordered calmly. No need to shout out his orders. Everyone could hear him just fine without him shouting.

Wartortle launched himself at Torterra at amazing speeds, glowing as he powered up the attack. Before Torterra could start charging his Solar Beam, Wartortle was already crashing into him, sending him back a few feet, knocked unconscious by that one blow.

Paul looked incredulous, shocked and angry. "How? How could he have been taken out in one hit? I know that he's not weak, so why are yours so strong?" he asked, looking back at Ash.

He realized that this may just be a losing battle after all, where he once thought that he'd win in the end.

Ash crossed his arms. "My Pokémon are my friends and family. Just like I want to make them happy and make sure that they're taken care of properly, they show me their appreciation by giving their all in battle and training. Now, is that it? Or are you going to throw out any more of your Pokémon?" he asked coolly, his voice like frost, eyes still glowing.

"I want to see how my other Pokémon stand up to you. A three on three sound good to you?" Paul asked.

"Counting the one I just knocked out? Or another three?" Ash asked.

"Counting Torterra," Paul said with an arrogant smirk, thinking that maybe he could win this with Elekid.

"Very well. Send out your Pokémon," Ash said in an emotionless voice.

If Paul admitted it, he was slightly scared of this Ash. He'd seen what Ash was like while he'd followed them down the road for a bit and so knew that this Ash was much different. Wow, that sounded Stalkerish. Shaking those thoughts from his head, he called out his next Pokémon.

"Elekid, Stand by for Battle!" he called.

Elekid appeared in a flash of light, arms twirling as he readied himself for battle.

Ash didn't even consider switching Wartortle, he was just so used to facing Pokémon that his were weak to and coming out the victors.

"Wartortle, Aqua Ice Jet," he ordered in a low voice, only letting his Pokémon hear him.

Wartortle gave no sign of hearing him besides simply starting the attack. This attack Ash had the idea for while on that Mountain and he helped his Pokémon perfect it.

Paul simply smirked. "Dodge, Elekid! Then use a Thunderbolt!" he said.

Elekid dodged out of the way and turned to use Thunderbolt, only to get slammed into by Wartortle who had swung the attack around to nail him from behind. He was thrown back and dust was kicked up by his landing.

Only Ash was not concerned about the outcome of the attack. He could sense that Elekid was unconscious.

When the smoke cleared it showed just what he'd known and what the other three had suspected.

Paul growled and returned the walking battery. "That was pathetic! You can't even beat a type that's weaker than you! I guess that you need to train more!" he said to it harshly and somewhat maliciously.

"You know," Ash drawled, something that he didn't normally do, choosing to save it for when he wanted to anger his opponents, and it looked like it was working. "You really aren't proving your point to me at all. You say that you only want power, and I say I'll raise any Pokémon and make it strong. But whose winning this match? You, the strength addict, or me, the pushover?" he asked.

Paul just growled again, too stubborn and angry to admit the point. This boy, this nobody just managed to take out two of his Pokémon with one hit each!

Then he thought, maybe this battle could awaken Chimchar's hidden potential. Thinking that it sounded like a good idea, he called out Chimchar. "Chimchar, Stand by for Battle!"

Ash looked on in disbelief. Surely Paul was kidding? He had just watched as Wartortle defeated two types that he was weak to in one hit. Now he was sending out a type that Wartortle was _strong_ against?

He shrugged. Whatever the Rookie wanted to do he was fine with. "Wartortle, end this quickly! Bubble!" he ordered.

Paul saw red. Did this guy seriously underestimate him so much that he was using one of the weakest Water type moves out there?

As he saw Wartortle use the move it was confirmed. He was!

"Dodge by using Dig!" Paul ordered, smirking.

Ash smirked back. Well, if he was gonna play that way... "Wartortle, Earthquake! Then when he comes up use Water Gun!" he called out.

Paul's eyes widened. "Get out of there, Chimchar!" he ordered frantically.

The Fire Chimp jumped out of the ground, halfway to where he was supposed to be, only to get nailed in the face with a Water Gun while the earth shook from the Earthquake.

Needless to say, Chimchar fainted.

"Arrgh! You useless, pathetic Pokémon! That's it, you'll never be strong! You'll never awaken your hidden potential! I'll never defeat Brandon with you on my team! I don't need you holding me back, get lost!" Paul said, pressing the button on the Pokeball, causing a blue light to surround Chimchar and then fade.

Paul was already walking away while Ash's X-Transceiver collected the Winnings.

Ash clenched his teeth at seeing an obviously injured Pokémon being abandoned right then and there just because it lost a battle.

He walked over to the now awake Chimchar who was watching sadly as Paul left. He knelt down to his size watching sadly as Chimchar flinched when he raised his hand.

"Hey, Chimchar. I'm sorry. Would you like me to come with me? I promise that I will treat you well and with all of the respect that you deserve, if not more," Ash said, placing his hand onto Chimchar's head to rub it.

Chimchar leaned in and thought about the offer. Well, it was either this or the wild. And since he didn't want to go back to the wild, he would choose this. He nodded with a weak smile. "Char," he said.

Ash smiled gently. "Good. But first, let's get you healed up," he said, digging around in his bag for a Potion when he felt his hand hit a book that was not there before. Deciding to deal with that later, he pulled out the Potion and began to spray it onto Chimchar's wounds.

Once that was done Ash held up a Pokeball, giving Chimchar the choice again. Chimchar looked back in the direction that Paul went in, and then back at Ash and the Pokeball. Without another thought he reached up and pressed the button on the ball and got sucked in, the Pokeball pinging without a struggle.

Ash smiled and stood up. "Thanks, Chimchar. We'll make a great team. I'll make sure that you're really strong so that you can show Paul your strength and make him regret abandoning you," he said.

The ball moved like it was nodding and then Ash clipped it to his belt. He turned to his traveling partners. "Let's go," he said and he started to walk off, already planning on reporting Paul to the Authorities. He would make sure that Paul got what he deserved. Releasing an injured Pokémon, how distasteful.

Brock and Dawn hurried to catch up to him before he left them there.

III

A while down the road they came across a wild Buneary that was sitting under a tree, eating a berry. Ash looked at her and thought about catching her, but when he saw the look in Dawn's eyes he knew that she really wanted to catch that Buneary.

He smiled at her when she looked at him to see if he wanted to catch the Buneary. "Go for it, Dawn," he said.

She cheered and faced Buneary, who had noticed them and saw that she was about to get into a battle. Instead of running she stood her ground. "Bun, Eary! Buneary!" she said.

"Piplup, I choose you!" Dawn called as she released her Piplup.

"Pip Piplup!" Piplup stated as he saw Buneary. He got ready for battle.

"Alright, Piplup, use Bubblebeam!" Dawn ordered.

Piplup fired off a Bubblebeam at the Buneary, but she leaped over it and came down with a Bounce, slamming her feet into his face.

Piplup got up, a little angry, but otherwise alright.

"Okay, now use Peck!" Dawn ordered.

Piplup nodded and his beak glowed, then he launched himself at Buneary who got hit and flew back a bit. When she got up she looked dazed, but fine.

"Okay, now use Bubblebeam again!" Dawn called out.

Once again Piplup fired a Bubblebeam at Buneary. She countered by using Ice Beam on the bubbles and making the two attacks explode when they collided. They were blown back, each taking a bit of damage, but otherwise fine.

It was Buneary who made the first move this time as she charged at Piplup, a move that Ash recognized as Dizzy Punch.

"Look out, Dawn. That's Dizzy Punch. It could make Piplup confused!" he called out as a warning.

She nodded to him. "Thanks!" she said. She turned back to the battle and decided to take something from Ash's earlier battle with Starly. "Piplup, spin to the right to dodge and then use Bubblebeam again!" she ordered.

Piplup evaded nicely and then fired a Bubblebeam at Buneary's unprotected back. It hit at point blank range. The area was filled with smoke and they waited until it died down.

Though Ash was smiling as he could sense that Dawn had won. He may not be very proficient with his Aura, but Red had taught him the basics, such as Aura Sensing and Aura Sight.

When the smoke cleared, Dawn saw that Buneary was knocked out and cheered. She was about to throw an unprimed Pokeball when Ash called out to her.

"Dawn, you've gotta prime it first!" he instructed.

She blushed, embarrassed that he had to tell her something so obvious. She primed the ball before she threw it at the downed Buneary with a cry of, "Go, Pokeball!"

It hit Buneary and bounced off of her, the ball letting out a beam of red light that encompassed her and sucked her into it. The Pokeball fell to the ground and started rocking. After two shakes it pinged, signifying capture.

Dawn stood there for a second, unable to believe that she'd done it. Then it came to her. She cheered and raced over to Buneary's Pokeball. "We did it, Piplup! We caught a Pokémon on our first try! We have a new friend!" she said happily.

Piplup patted the Pokeball in greeting. "Piplup!" he said.

"Good job, Dawn. Very nicely done," Ash complimented.

She grinned at him. "Thanks, Ash! Though I did use your trick. Are you angry?" she asked, frowning at the end.

Ash looked confused. "Angry? No. Should I be?" he asked.

"I think that she was afraid that you'd be upset at her for stealing one of your tricks, that's all," Brock interjected.

Ash's eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh! No, Dawn. I'm not angry. If you ever feel that one of my tricks will help you out, use them! I'm not gonna be mad!" he said, chuckling slightly. Not meanly though, so she understood.

She grinned. "Great! Thanks, Ash!" she said as she clipped Buneary's Pokeball to her belt.

"Well, let's get moving! We want to make it to Jubilife City within the week so that you make it in time for your Contest, right?" Brock asked.

"Right! Let's go!" Dawn cheered and she recalled Piplup before she took off running down the road.

"Hey, Dawn, wait up!" Brock yelled after her as he and Ash began running after her to catch up.

Ash and Raichu laughed at her being so energetic while Meowth shook his head fondly, reminded of his time with Jessie and James while a part of Team Rocket.

Speaking of that, maybe it was time to tell Ash the truth. The truth about Team Rocket.

III

"Alright, this is a nice spot to set up camp for the night! I'll help you set it up, but then my Pokémon and I will start evening Training! Brock, do you mind cooking dinner for us?" Ash asked.

Brock smiled. "That's my job, right? It has been since I first joined you!" he said.

Ash frowned as he felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Brock. I should have thought to learn how to cook sooner so that I could take over once in awhile," he said.

"Hey, don't feel sorry, I like cooking! Still, knowing you, you're looking for some way to repay me, right?" Brock asked.

Ash sheepishly nodded. "Yeah," he said.

"Alright then. Here's what you can do. I would like two things. One, please let my Pokémon train with yours. Two, please help clean up dinner. Can you do that?" Brock asked with a smile.

"Sure can! Thanks, Brock, you're the best!" Ash said.

Brock chuckled. "It's no problem. I only have Bonsly for now though," he said.

"Not a problem!" Ash said. He then went off to train his Pokémon and Brock's Bonsly.

He went to the edge of the clearing that they were in and let the Pokémon out. They all looked at him. Bonsly looked around and saw Brock further away, getting started on dinner. "Bonsly?" he asked.

Ash knelt down in front of him, smiling. "Hi, Bonsly. Brock asked for me to train you today, since he's making dinner. Is that alright with you?" he asked.

Bonsly hesitated for a minute before he nodded, smiling. "Bonsly!" he said.

Ash grinned. "Great! Alright, everyone, let's get to training! Here, Bonsly, you'll have to wear this while training," he said.

Pikachu and Meowth jumped down from his shoulders and stood in the line for the weights to be put on. Once everyone had theirs on, they began laps.

Chimchar got a bit of one-on-one training from Ash. "Chim?" he asked.

Ash smiled. "Well, see, I thought that it'd be a good idea to scan you and see what moves you know, as well as your Ability, before giving you any real training," he said.

"Char!" Chimchar said, nodding. It made sense. Paul had done the very same thing. Then he felt nervous. Would Ash abandon him too, like Paul did, after seeing how weak he was?

Ash brought up the Xtransceiver to Scan Chimchar.

 **Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon. Chimchar easily climbs the sheerest of walls and lives on mountain tops. When it sleeps, its flames go out. This Chimchar is Male and has the Ability Blaze. Chimchar's known moves are Scratch, Leer, Ember, Taunt, Flamewheel, Dig, and Flamethrower. Known Egg Moves are Counter, Blaze Kick and Thunder punch. Note: Egg Moves have not been unlocked yet.**

Ash nodded, smiling. "Okay, that's a good moveset. It can be improved on, but that can be done in a bit. Right now I want to see how well you are with your attacks. Let's see... Ah, yes. Quilava, come over here for a minute please!" he called.

Quilava paused from her laps and nodded, coming over with a smile. "Quil?" she asked.

"I need you to spar against Chimchar here. See, I need you to judge the power in each attack. Can you do that for me?" Ash asked.

Quilava nodded. "Lava!" she said.

"Okay, Chimchar, use Scratch!" Ash ordered right away.

Chimchar leapt in to attack, dealing a double Scratch, but barely doing any damage. He winced as he saw the faint red lines on Quilava's underbelly. He really wasn't strong, was he? He lowered his head in disappointment.

Ash saw that and decided to nip that in the bud. "Alright, good job, Chimchar! That was great!" Ash said.

Chimchar lifted his head in astonishment. Really? Ash though that that was good? Well then, he had to live up to that! He would do his best to live up to Ash's expectations! "Chimchar!" he said, smiling.

"Okay, now use Fury Swipes!" Ash ordered.

Chimchar nodded and attacked Quilava with Fury Swipes, hitting five times in a row since she wasn't dodging. Again, he saw that this barely hurt her more than the last attack. However, instead of serving to make him feel weak, it firmed up his desire to get stronger for this Trainer who believed in him so much!

"Alright, great job! Now use Flamewheel!" Ash ordered.

"Char!" Chimchar said, flame leaking from his mouth, then he curled up into a ball and shot off at a fair speed towards Quilava.

This time she dodged him three times, each time he turned and went after her. Then she stood still and let him hit her. It pushed her back a foot, but otherwise did no damage.

He came out of the attack feeling dizzy, but he saw her nod in approval and he felt glad. He looked over to Ash to see him smiling, making him feel even more happy.

"Alright, that was great, Chimchar! Here, eat this Persim berry, that will stop the dizziness," Ash said, handing over a berry.

Chimchar took it and ate it, feeling better almost immediately. He stood up, ready for the next order.

"Leer, then Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.

While a little startled about the Status move, Chimchar did so anyway, Leering at Quilava, making her blink, then he shot off a Flamethrower at her, which just washed over her, doing no damage at all.

Well, that only made him aspire to be as strong as her, and then stronger! Anything for his new Trainer! Then he felt nervous again. What if this wasn't good enough for Ash? His Leer hadn't done much, and his Flamethrower did nothing! What if Ash didn't want him anymore, now knowing how weak he was?

Ash walked up to them with a smile, petting both on th head. "Great job, both of you. Okay, let's get to how well you did. Quilava, correct me if I get anything wrong, okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Quil!" she said.

He nodded back. "Okay, let's start with your Scratch. No, it didn't do much to Quilava, but she's one of my strongest Pokémon, so doing any kind of damage to her at all is great. It means that you've been training very hard to perfect your moves, and to make them deal as much damage as possible. Right?" he asked.

"Char," Chimchar said, nodding.

"Right. So then, next is your Fury Swipes. A little slow with each follow up Swipe, but that's okay, with training will come speed. You did quite well in that attack, because where you lacked in speed you made up in power. Good job. Next is your Flamewheel. It was fairly powerful, but it does need work, in speed, power and accuracy. Ideally, your opponent should not have time to dodge your attack, but you made up for that by adjusting your course to hit Quilava, which many people don't expect, so good job. As for power, both the flames should be stronger, and the impact that you make should also do a great deal of damage, so we'll train you in that.

I also noticed that you became rather dizzy after coming out of that attack, which I can't always fix in the middle of battle, so I'll have you work with Quilava on it. She's rather experienced in Flamewheel, so she can teach you how to not become dizzy, that way you can keep moving without pause when you use that move mid battle. Is this alright with you two?" he asked.

The two nodded. Quilava because she could see a great deal of potential in this young Fire type, and Chimchar because he wanted to learn as much as he could so that he could become as strong as he could.

Ash nodded. "Alright, good. Now, your Leer didn't do much because Quilava here is pretty brave. See, Leer works well when the opponent is able to be made nervous, or scared. Basically weaker Pokémon than Quilava, and Pokémon who haven't seen as much as her either. Next up is your Flamethrower. It was actually a well powered attack. The only reasons that it didn't do any damage is because Quilava is much stronger, and because she is a Fire type as well.

As for your Dig, I saw how well you used that attack in our battle with Paul, and it was very good. Your weakness with that is what I did, use Earthquake and then attack as you came up. Either way you're going to get hurt, unless you come up somewhere that they don't expect, like to the side, or behind them. To do that though, we'll need to increase the speed of your Dig.

Now, as for your Egg Moves, I think that you can work with Raichu to learn Thunder punch, and Riolu to learn both Counter and Blaze Kick, since he has those moves. Do you think that you can handle this much work?" Ash asked, finishing his long assessment.

Chimchar nodded. "Chimchar!" he said, determined.

"Good! First up will be Flamewheel. First, try to increase the speed and accuracy. Once you're better with that, increase the heat of the flame. Good luck. Now, I have a phone call to make," Ash said, walking away to dial Prof. Rowan.

III

"I see. This Paul boy just abandoned your new Chimchar, while it was still injured from battling you?" Prof. Rowan asked, Ash having called him on his Xtransceiver. He was frowning, looking both angry and worried.

Ash nodded, scowling. "Yeah. This is the latest Pokémon that I now have thanks to them being abandoned by their Trainers. I'm so mad! Why do people have to abandon their Pokémon all the time?! It's so disgusting!" he said. He wanted to be able to do something for them! He had lots of money, so maybe he could think of something.

Prof. Rowan nodded. "I understand how you're feeling. I agree with your point of view. Did you get any pictures of Chimchar while he was injured? That's the only way that we can get him arrested and get his Pokémon License taken away," he asked.

Ash frowned. "Hold on, let me see," he said.

He pressed some buttons on his Xtransceiver, knowing that it occasionally took pictures of his surroundings, that way he could catch anything he had missed at the time. He pulled up pictures from that morning. To his great relief, he found two pictures of the injured Chimchar, then one of Ash healing him.

He nodded. "Yes, Sir, I have two, and one of me saving him," he said.

Prof. Rowan nodded, a pleased smile on his face. "Send them over then. I will turn them into the proper Authorities. I will also need a written statement from you and any other witnesses who were involved with this scene. Please have them ready by tomorrow evening, then I can have the Authorities take action against this Paul Shinji," he said.

Ash nodded, sending the pictures over. "Was he a Trainer that you sponsored, Professor?" he asked.

Prof. Rowan shook his head. "No. He must have caught the Chimchar in the wild, because I had no knowledge of him. Ah, the pictures have come through. Let's see... My word, that is pretty bad! It's a good thing that Chimchar's don't die in water, unlike the Charmander line," he said, thanking fate for this small, but significant detail.

Ash scowled again. "Yeah, I know. I have a Charizard who was abandoned as a Charmander. His old Trainer, Damian, left Charmander out on a rock in the middle of the woods, in a rainstorm, leaving him to die! I promised myself that I would never let this happen again, but look at Chimchar!" he said.

"While it is indeed bad what happened to your Charizard, you didn't just let it happen with Chimchar. You instead did the right thing as a Trainer and person, taking him in immediately and healing him, then bringing the matter to my attention. While I would have preferred it to be earlier that you reported it, you still did it in a timely fashion, and for that I thank you," Prof. Rowan said, giving Ash a smile.

Ash smiled back. "Thank you, Sir. What can I do now?" he asked.

"Other than writing up the report, you can be a good Trainer and friend to Chimchar, as that's what he needs most of all right now. Can you do that?" Prof. Rowan asked.

Ash nodded firmly. "Of course I can! I've already started training him to be even stronger than he was than before," he said.

Prof. Rowan nodded with a smile. "Good. It sounds like you two already have a decent bond. May I see his training?" he asked.

Ash nodded, moving the camera to focus on Chimchar and Quilava, who were busy practicing with Flamewheel.

"Hmm, that is quite good. He seems to be improving well, though the speed is less than I expected. Wait, that might explain it. Are those weights that I see on them?" Prof. Rowan asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I figured that it will increase their speed better than the old fashion way," he said.

Prof. Rowan nodded with a smile. "Yes indeed. Good idea. Alright then, I will expect those reports by tomorrow evening. Thank you for reporting this to me. I will see you soon," he said, then he hung up, leaving Ash to put together the report in his head.

He walked up to Brock and Dawn, both who were getting the food served and the table set. "Hey guys, can I get you to do something really important for me?" he asked.

They turned to him, looking worried. "What is it, Ash?" Dawn asked.

"Does this involve any of our Pokémon?" Brock asked, frowning in concern.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, it involves Chimchar. You see, I just finished my call to Prof. Rowan and he said that it would really help if we all wrote a report on what happened when Chimchar was abandoned, such as the way he was treated, what caused the abandonment, and how he was injured and left there. It would also help if you included what I did upon being faced with what happened, such as my taking him in, then reporting it to Prof. Rowan," he said.

They nodded. "Of course! That's no problem, right, Brock?" Dawn asked.

"Right! I'm not happy about this happening again, and I'm not just going to sit back and watch happen without doing anything! Alright, when does he need these reports?" Brock asked.

"Tomorrow evening at the latest," Ash answered.

Brock nodded. "Then I'll start it right after dinner," he said.

"I've never written a report. Can you help me?" Dawn asked.

"Sure. That's not a problem. But first, let's eat dinner!" Brock said.

They nodded.

Ash turned around to face the training Pokémon. "Alright, everyone! It's dinner time!" he called.

The Pokémon that he was training, Raichu, Pidgeot, Riolu, Larvitar, Quilava, Wartortle, Meowth, Bonsly, and Chimchar, gratefully stopped and ran over, tired and worn out, but happy with the training.

Bonsly ran up to Brock and into his arms, chattering about the training, even though he knew that Brock didn't understand much of what he said.

Riolu climbed onto Ash's lap, bringing his bowl with him. He liked to eat on Ash's lap, but so did Larvitar. Since both saw him as their father, they each took turns to sit on his lap during mealtimes. This dinner it was Riolu's, then breakfast would be Larvitar's, then lunch would be Riolu's, then dinner would be Larvitar's, and so on.

Riolu really loved Ash, and he remembered how they met.

 _Flashback_

Inside Riolu's Egg, it was dark. It had been that way for as long as he had been born. But it wasn't quiet. He could hear what went on outside of his Egg. Once he had been born, Palmer, the guy who had him bred, talked about how his Egg would be going to this really strong and kind Trainer, in hopes of giving him a big fight, and as a test of how well he befriended his Pokémon.

So, in theory, he knew that he would be going to a kind and strong Trainer, but in practice, Riolu was afraid that this boy that he would be going to would not be as good of a Trainer and person as Palmer said. Also, by the sounds of it, the other Champions and Battle Frontier Leaders would also be sending Ash Pokémon and Eggs, so he feared that Ash wouldn't have time for all of them, and wouldn't love them all.

Once he hatched, he realized that those fears were silly.

He looked up at the kind face of the boy that he knew was Ash, who was smiling down at him with care.

"Hello, Riolu. I'm Ash, your new Trainer. I hope that you'll like me and will accept me as your Trainer. Now, come on, you just hatched, so let's give you a bath, then get you some food," Ash said.

Riolu smiled and nodded. He instantly loved this boy, this Trainer, with all of his heart, and he knew that he had imprinted on Ash, seeing Ash as his father. That was okay with him, as he knew that this boy would be a good one, and would make him super strong. He also knew that this Ash had a lot of room in his heart, so all of them would be loved and taken care of evenly.

Ash picked him up, then brought him over to a tub of water. Seeing Riolu's confused face, he chuckled. "I had Wartortle use a low powered Scald, then a weak Water Gun to make some warm water for your bath. As soon as I saw your Egg start to glow he got right on that. Charizard is making your food right now," he said, setting him down into the relaxing water.

He giggled as Ash washed the back of his neck, which was ticklish.

Ash grinned. "Oh, so you're ticklish, huh? Well then, here comes more tickling!" he said, hands darting in to tickle Riolu, who found that he was extremely ticklish, and he laughed helplessly.

By the time the tickling was over, he realized that Ash had also been washing him, so when they were done playing, Ash pulled him out to dry him off.

Then Ash brought him over to Charizard, who was holding the bottle of milk. Charizard handed it to Ash, smiling slightly at Riolu.

"Thanks, Charizard, you're a big help. Okay, so I looked up what baby Pokémon eat, and it's a mixture of Berries and Milk. The Berries in here will help you to grow big and strong, and it tastes good, so here," Ash said, handing Riolu the bottle.

Riolu tested it, then smiled at how good it tasted. He kept eating, not taking his eyes away from Ash's face, because he just looked so happy to even be near Riolu, and that was something that Riolu would never get tired of.

 _Flashback End_

Once dinner was over, Ash had the Pokémon do some light exercise, to help them digest their food better. He advised Dawn to do the same thing with Piplup and Buneary, which she did.

"Ash, tomorrow will you help me with making a training routine with Piplup and Buneary?" Dawn asked.

Ash smiled. "Sure, but remember that it has to mesh with your style," he said.

She blinked, looking confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, see, I'm a Trainer and you're a Coordinator. The same training that works for me will not necessarily work for you, because while I'm doing mainly Gym Battles, you're doing Contests. We work on power while you work on finesse. That's just the way that it is," he said.

"Oh, I see. ...Ash, do you think that Gym Battles are better than Contests?" she asked, frowning.

He looked thoughtful. "Hmm, that's a difficult question. Better in what way? While I like Gym Battles more, mostly because I don't have to worry about making it look good, only having to worry about if the move will connect and be powerful enough, I also know that Contests are great too, giving Pokémon a better control over their moves, since they have to use them so precisely, or else the appeal will backfire. I definitely like doing Contests, since it gives me a break from only worrying about sheer power, and it gives me a new challenge of making sure that the appeal is done right. So really, I don't think that one is better than the other," he said, giving her a smile.

"So, you don't think that I'm foolish because I focus on the beauty of my Pokémon?" she asked.

He laughed in such a way that told her that that fear was just silly, and then he explained why before she could become hurt. "Not at all! See, just because the moves and the Pokémon look beautiful doesn't mean that they're any weaker than regular Trainers! I know that you have to battle in Contests, and honestly, it's much harder to battle correctly in a Contest than in a Gym Battle, since you have to make sure that your Pokémon is both showy and doing damage. It's especially difficult if you're doing a double battle, since you have to make sure that both of the Pokémon do damage and are not getting in the way of eachother and instead are working perfectly in sync, and you have to make sure that their appeals do not clash so that they are complimenting eachother. Nah, you're not foolish for that. I bet when you become more experienced that you can win the Wallace Cup!" he said.

She grinned. "Really?!" she asked. Winning the Wallace Cup meant that her Pokémon had to be really showy and strong! For him to believe that she could do it meant a lot to her!

He grinned back. "Of course! Now, let's get those reports done, then we'll head to bed. We can work everything out tomorrow," he said.

She nodded, confidence filling her. "Right!" she said.

They headed over to the table, then began their reports.

Ash finished first, being able to write fast and have his handwriting remain neat. He then took the time to help Dawn with hers, since Brock seemed just fine with his, but had been slowed down by helping Dawn.

Done with that, they all went to bed.

III

The next morning, Ash proofread their reports, made a few changes to them, then scanned them into his Xtransceiver, then sent them to Prof. Rowan via Email.

Once that was done, he made good on his word and began to help Dawn work out a Training Routine for her Pokémon, while Brock was busy making breakfast.

"Okay, so first you have to be aware of what your Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses are," Ash instructed.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, wanting to be clear.

"What types are they weak and strong against? Do they do better on the attack or defense? Are they good at status moves, special moves, or physical moves? Are they good at spinning, rolling, jumping or standing still during a appeal? Are they good at dodging, blocking, or enduring a hit? Are they good sweepers or tanks? How strong are their moves? Do you know any of that?" he clarified.

She shook her head, frowning. "No, sorry," she said. Then she perked up. "But I do know that Piplup is better at Water attacks than his Peck!" she added.

He smiled. "Good, so you know that Piplup has the makings of a good Special attacker. What about Buneary?" he asked.

"Um, that Dizzy Punch looked pretty powerful, but the Ice Beam was good as well! Can a Pokémon be good at both?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yep, those are what we call balanced Attackers. What about her defense?" he questioned.

"Well, she's only been in one battle with me, and that was when I caught her, so I don't really know," she said.

"Well then, the best idea would be to scan her with your Pokedex. That's always a good start," he advised.

She nodded, then took out her pink Pokedex to scan both of her Pokémon.

 **Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon. It's very proud and its thick down protects it from the cold. Piplup's limited walking skills often cause it to fall down, but that never hurts its pride. This Piplup is Male and has the Ability Torrent. Piplup's known moves are Bide, Peck, Bubblebeam, Pound, Growl, Bubble and Water Sport. Known Egg Moves are Steel Wing, Mud Sport, and Mud Slap. Note: Egg Moves have not been unlocked yet.**

 **Buneary, the Rabbit Pokémon. By quickly extending its rolled up ears, it can launch a powerful attack against its enemies. When sensing danger, it extends both ears as an alert, and when cold, it curls up and goes to sleep. This Buneary is Female and has the Ability Run Away. Buneary's known moves are Dizzy Punch, Bounce, Ice Beam, Pound, Frustration, Foresight, and Endure. Known Egg Moves are Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, and Focus Punch. Note: Egg Moves have not been unlocked yet.**

Dawn frowned. "Well, it's great to know the Abilities and Moves, but what about knowing if it's a good attacker or defender?" she asked.

He pointed to a button on her Pokedex. "The Pokedex itself won't tell you those things, but it can tell you what they normally are. To find out for your Pokémon, you have to have them battle eachother. You then have to judge which moves they are better at, then decide what they are. I would also keep in mind what types they will be when they Evolve, such as Piplup will be a Water/Steel type," he said.

"How do I find that out?" she asked.

"Here, bring up Piplup. Right, you press this button to see the Evolutions, then you can see what types they will be. Pretty simple, right?" he asked.

She nodded, looking up Buneary's Evolution. "Huh? I can figure out how they Evolve on here too?" she asked, catching sight of how Buneary's Evolved into Lopunny.

"Yeah. That's really helpful for when your Pokémon wants to Evolve, but you don't know how to Evolve it. Most Evolutions happen by lots of training, but some Evolve from Items or, as the case is here, a deep friendship with your Pokémon. That's how Riolu will Evolve one day. However, here's a tip. Don't go trying to create a friendship just because you want her to Evolve. True friendships happen over time and through real bonding, and knowing that you can trust eachother," Ash advised.

She nodded. "Okay, that makes sense, thank you. So, this button right here will tell me what they normally are? No, I don't want to use that because then I will base their training on what it normally is, not on what it really is. Okay, so their attacks then. Piplup knows mostly Special Moves, so that helps. And Buneary knows mostly Physical Moves. Okay, now I should see how well they use those attacks, right? And judge how powerful they are?" she asked.

He nodded. "That's right. This serves in two ways. One: you can tell how long they've known the move and how much experience they have in using it. Two: you can tell what their preference is for those moves, such as if Buneary prefers to use Ice Beam or Dizzy Punch, or if Piplup likes to use Bubblebeam or Peck, you know, like that," Ash instructed.

She smiled. "Thanks, Ash! Okay, we'll get right to that!" she said.

He smiled back and nodded. "Good. Now, I have to go check on my Pokémon and see how well they're doing in their training, okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Sure! I should be fine for a while!" she said.

"Good. See you in a bit!" he said, walking away towards the group of his Pokémon, with the addition of Bonsly.

He stopped a bit away from them, watching them one at a time. Raichu looked like he was trying to create an Electro Wheel, which would be a good move, so long as he could get it working. It would definitely startle those they were battling, because they wouldn't be expecting it. Once he got it usable, he would have Raichu train with Quilava to get over the dizziness that came with it.

Pidgeot was practicing her dodging while on land, using only her feet to get out of the way, no flying, while wearing weights on her legs to make it harder. Larvitar was practicing his Rock Throw while aiming them at Pidgeot, giving her incentive to dodge and him experience with the attack.

Quilava and Chimchar were practicing Flamewheel still, with Chimchar occasionally taking breaks from that to practice Blaze Kick with Riolu. When Riolu was practicing on his own, he was training to get Aura Sphere to work right as a seeker, figuring that it should work, since humans had made heat seeking missiles.

Wartortle and Meowth were working on Meowth's Thunderbolt, both the accuracy and the power behind it. It turned out that it was actually pretty easy for Meowth to use it, having been hit by it for so long and so often, so his fur barely bristled when he used it, which he was pretty happy about, since it meant that he didn't have to be cleaned as often, as he was still a cat, and cats hate baths. Besides, he didn't fancy being electrocuted by the static left in his fur.

Once Meowth learned Payday he could work on imbuing the coins with electricity, making it likely that the opponent would be paralyzed. Actually, he had a few of those coins from old battles with Meowth and Persian. Perhaps he should find one in his bag to get it ready for Meowth.

He grabbed his bag and stuck his hand in it. As before, it seemed to be holding a lot more in it than normal. He also hit his hand against a book again, causing him to pull it out and look at it.

 _'Aura Made Easy: by Red.'_

'What? When did Red manage to slip this in my bag? Wait, is Aura why my bag is lighter and has more space? Wow, that's so cool! I'll have to thank him when I get back to Kanto! Too bad I don't have his number! Okay, I should get to learning this right away! It would really help me and Riolu! Besides, Lucario said that I should learn how to use it, so now's my chance to learn more than Aura Sensing and Aura Sight!' Ash thought with a grin.

With that, he sat down and began reading.

III

With Ash's new GPS, the group was making good time to Jubilife City. On the way, Ash was testing Dawn's knowledge of Pokémon, especially hers.

She was doing pretty well, now having an idea of how to properly take care of and train her Piplup and Buneary, but it wasn't perfect. Still, Ash gave her an 8/10 score for her prompt and mostly complete answers, while only failing a few answers.

Suddenly, the sky brightened and they turned their attention to it.

"Wow, that's so pretty! What caused that, Ash?" Dawn asked.

"Hmm, my guess is a Sunny Day. I'd know since my Ivysaur uses that move often and it looks almost exactly like that. I'd wager that the slight difference is because of how cold the air is here, and the tilt of the Earth is different here than in the other Regions," Ash answered.

"That is entirely correct. Who, may I ask, are you, young man?" a man in a forest green cloak, carrying a golden harp in the shape of Mew, asked, coming out of the woods, a Budew at his heels, both smiling.

"Oh, I'm Ash Ketchum. This is Raichu, and this is Meowth," Ash said.

"I'm Brock Harrison," Brock said.

"I'm Dawn Berlitz, and this is Piplup!" Dawn said cheerfully.

"I see. I can't say that I've heard of any of you. My apologies," the man said, frowning.

Ash shrugged. "Eh, that's alright. Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Nando, a wandering minstrel. I go around the Regions playing music for people. Lately though, I've been interested in Contests and Gym Battles, though I don't know which to pick. Tell me, are any of you Trainers or Coordinators?" the man asked.

"I'm a Coordinator! Or, I want to be anyway," Dawn said.

Ash smiled. "Don't worry, Dawn. You'll get there eventually. I'm a normal Trainer, though I do take on Contests occasionally," he told Nando.

Brock shrugged. "I used to be a Gym Leader, though lately I'm a Breeder," he said, knowing that he likely would have nothing to do with how Nando made his choice.

Nando regarded Ash with curiosity. "I see. Why do you do both, if I may ask?" he asked.

"Well, I started with Gym Battles, wanting to compete in the Indigo League. Once I got to Hoenn though, I got a good look at Contests, since a companion of mine was a Coordinator. I started to help her with her appeals, then saw the use of finesse in battles, for more than just looking good, since it required a lot of control over the moves. So I started to compete in Contests so that I could tell how well I was doing, and I tied with May in the Grand Festival in Kanto. Now my Pokémon have a great control over their power, just the way it should be," Ash said, being clear since he knew that this was important to Nando.

Nando smiled. "Thank you, my friend. You have just made my choice very easy for me," he said.

"Oh?" Ash asked.

"Yes. I will choose to do both, as you have. Thanks to you I have decided to continue doing what I love, and I love both of them. Thank you. I feel that I must repay you, but I do not know how," Nando said, frowning slightly at the end.

Ash looked thoughtfully. "Actually, I have an idea. Nando, how would you feel about battling my friend here, Dawn? You see, I'm taking on the role of Mentor for her, and I think that it would be great experience for her if she got to battle a real Trainer. Would you be up for it?" Ash asked.

Nando smiled again. "That would be no problem at all, Ash. Well, Dawn? How about it?" he asked.

Dawn grinned. "I would like that a lot! Thank you so much, Nando!" she said.

"No trouble at all! Now, how about a one-on-one elimination battle with no time limit? We will add Contest elements to it, so make your attacks as showy as possible. If an attack fails, you lose points, if it fails to hit, you also lose points. Same with me. The first person to lose all of their points loses. Is that okay?" Nando asked.

She nodded. "Of course! Um, Ash, do you have a way to keep track?" she asked, looking at her Mentor.

Ash pressed a few buttons on his Xtransceiver, then nodded. "Yeah. Apparently there's an App on here that helps Coordinators, just in case we run across to Coordinators, or we decide to compete in a Contest battle, that's my guess," he said.

He pressed another button and a hologram of the score appeared clearly for everyone there.

"Alright then. Dawn, you may go first," Nando offered, his Budew taking her place on his side of the field.

Dawn smiled. "Thanks, Nando! Piplup, Spotlight!" she said, pointing towards the field. Piplup jumped forward, getting into a ready pose.

"Alright, are both Coordinators ready?" Brock asked.

"Yes," Nando said simply.

"Yep!" Dawn said, excited and full of nerves. This was her first Contest battle, and she wanted to do well. If she didn't then she felt that she would let Ash down, and it would feel as if all of her training in the past day was all wasted.

"Alright then, the battle ends when either your points are gone or your Pokémon is unable to battle! With that understood, let the battle begin!" Brock announced, slashing his hand down.

"Alright, Piplup, use Peck!" Dawn ordered.

Piplup's beak glowed brightly as he charged the attack, then he threw himself at the Budew, who looked ready to do as Nando ordered when he ordered it.

"Budew, please Dodge," Nando requested.

Budew jumped over Piplup's head, then faced him, ready to attack. Dawn's points went down a bit.

"Now, Bullet Seed, if you please," Nando said.

"Piplup, quick, turn around and finish Peck!" Dawn ordered quickly, before Budew could even start to charge her attack.

Piplup quickly spun around, then managed to hit Budew before she could even react, having been too surprised by his quick action, sending her flying backwards, having taken heavy damage from that Super Effective attack and the landing, which was fairly painful. Nando's points went down by a fourth.

Nando smiled. "Well, I can see that I made a mistake there. Good job, Dawn. Budew, are you well?" he asked, concerned for his Pokémon.

Budew got up and nodded, getting ready to attack again.

"Good. Now, please, Solorbeam!" Nando asked.

As Budew began to charge, Piplup looked to Dawn for instruction, looking slightly panicked.

"Piplup, use Bide now!" Dawn ordered, looking worried, but taking the chance anyway.

Ash was surprised that she was taking that chance, but it was a good idea if you knew that you couldn't dodge in time, which Piplup wouldn't be able to do, since the Sunny Day was still in effect.

Piplup nodded and got Bide up just in time to catch the incoming Solarbeam. He was almost pushed back, but he set his stance and withstood it, but barely. His points dwindled bit by bit, leaving him at a quarter of points when it was done.

It bounced back quickly, lined up in the same moment that it finished, leaving Budew no time to dodge, because she was still tired from using it. She flew back and skidded across the ground. Her points went down to only a tiny sliver, having lost points because of damage done and an attack used against her.

She weakly pushed herself back up, then a glow enveloped her and she Evolved into Roselia. Even then, she was still so injured and tired that she collapsed, unable to battle. The attack, while a Grass move, was powerful. With Bide added to it the power doubled, and so did double the damage. Combined with the Peck attack from earlier, it was too much. Her points went down all the way.

Nando knelt down next to Roselia, cradling her in his arms. "Dear me, Roselia, I am so sorry for losing this battle," he said sorrowfully.

Roselia opened her eyes and she smiled at him. "Ro Selia," she said.

He smiled and held up her Pokeball. "You did well. Take a rest for now," he said, recalling her.

He then stood up and approached Dawn, who was praising Piplup. He smiled at her. "A job well done, Dawn. And may I say, I would never have guessed that this was your first battle. You did so well, each move was well thought out, and you countered me very well. I hope to face you in a real Contest some day," he said.

She smiled. "Really?! Thank you so much, Nando! But, how long have you had Budew?" she asked, wondering why it had been such a close battle. She was just starting out, but Nando said that he'd been traveling for years. So why?

"Ah, I understand. The truth is that Budew hatched for me just a month ago and hasn't had much battling experience. To have Evolved so early must mean that we have a strong bond which led to her wanting to win the battle for me so much. See, Budew is one of the Pokémon who uses a strong friendship to Evolve, regardless of experience," Nando said.

She nodded. "That makes sense. Thank you again for the battle!" she said, smiling happily.

He smiled back. "Not a problem. It was my pleasure," he said, placing a hand over his heart.

Ash smiled as well. "I know that my student has already thanked you, but I'd like to thank you as well. I feel that this battle has let her grow in ways that she hasn't before. Thank you very much," he said.

Nando chuckled. "As I said, it was no problem. I was happy to battle her. Oh, would you like a battle as well, Ash? I would love to battle her Mentor!" he said.

Ash grinned. "Yeah, I'd love to battle you!" he said.

Nando smiled. "Well then, let us begin," he said, going back to his side of the field.

Ash switched spots with Dawn, giving her a high-five on the way.

"Okay, this will be a one-on-one elimination battle with no time limit! Will both Trainers please send out their Pokémon?" Brock asked.

"Swablu, please assist me!" Nando said, throwing a Pokeball.

A Swablu appeared on Nando's side of the field, flapping its cotton wings gently.

'Hmm, a Flying/Normal type huh? Well, using Raichu would be overkill, but both Riolu and Larvitar have an advantage. However, Riolu would also be weak, considering the Flying typing of Swablu. So Larvitar would be the best choice,' Ash thought, trying to think it through.

"Larvitar, Battlefront!" Ash called, gently tossing the Pokeball into the air.

Larvitar appeared on Ash's side of the field, body tense as he prepared for his first real battle under Ash. Ash had never allowed him to battle Red, because he stood no real chance and Ash wasn't the kind of person to put him in a battle that he Larvitar couldn't win. So now he was psyched and ready to win his first battle for Ash.

"I see. So you chose a Pokémon whose type gave it an advantage," Nando said with a smile.

"I didn't just choose him for that reason. See, the other two that I had that wouldn't completely overpower your Pokémon are also either at a type disadvantage or they have almost no training. I want to give Meowth a bit more training before putting him in a really tough battle. Besides, out of the three, Larvitar here is closest to Evolving," Ash explained.

"Ah, that makes sense," Nando said, nodding.

"Alright then! Battle begin!" Brock announced when no more talk seemed forthcoming, his arm slashing down.

"Alright Swablu, Ice Beam, please!" Nando requested.

Swablu's beak glowed icy white as she charged her attack.

"Okay, Larvitar, dodge and use Smack Down!" Ash ordered.

As Swablu fired her attack, Larvitar dodged, running around to behind Swablu, forming a rock that would make Swablu crash into the ground.

"Please, dodge it," Nando said.

Swablu dodged just in time, then turned around to face Larvitar again, ready for the next order.

"Mist, if you please," Nando said, hoping to gain a bit of an advantage over Ash.

As the blue/white Mist formed, Ash had other ideas. "Larvitar, Sandstorm!" he called.

Larvitar grinned and started the Sandstorm, which whipped up the air and cleared the Mist from the air, leaving Swablu at a clear disadvantage and Larvitar at an advantage.

"Good job, Larvitar, now use Rock Throw!" Ash ordered.

Large rocks began to pelt Swablu, dealing great damage. Nando looked at a loss for a moment, then he brightened.

"Swablu, use Sing, please," he said with a smile.

Swablu raised her head against the thrown rocks, then let out a beautiful humming that sounded like a lullaby, causing Larvitar's eyes to get heavy. He fought against it, but his eyes slipped shut and he fell asleep.

Ash frowned. Good thing the Sandstorm was still up, else it would become difficult to win this, but it wouldn't last forever.

"Now, Swablu, Hyper Voice, if you please," Nando said, sure that he had the advantage now.

"No! Larvitar, wake up! C'mon, buddy, you can wake up!" Ash shouted.

As Larvitar's ears were assaulted by the loud, high pitched screech of Hyper Voice, he managed to hear Ash's plea. He began to struggle to wake up.

The humans and Swablu were surprised to see a white glow from in the Sandstorm, then they heard a cry of, "Pupitar!"

Ash grinned and Nando frowned. "Alright! Good job, Pupitar! Now, use Stone Edge!" Ash ordered.

Swablu attempted to dodge on his own, but quickly found that the eye of the Sandstorm was getting pretty small, and so found herself with the choice of get hit or brave the Sandstorm. She decided to brave the Sandstorm, but she was too late, as large stone slabs knifed their way out of the ground and hit her, causing her to cry out in pain, then hit the ground in a faint.

The Sandstorm died down just at that moment, showing how lucky they had been to get in that attack. It also revealed Pupitar, who was panting and looking tired. The barrage of Hyper Voice did him no favors it seemed.

Still, he floated over to Ash, who hugged him happily. "Good job, Pupitar! I'm so proud of you!" Ash said.

"Pupi Tar!" Pupitar said, grinning happily.

Nando, on the other side of the field, was thanking his Swablu for the effort that she put in. "Thank you, Swablu. Now, take a nice, long rest. You deserve it," he said.

The two men met in the middle and shook hands. "Thank you for the wonderful battle, Ash. It really showed me how far I need to improve," Nando said.

Ash chuckled. "Nah, I should be the one thanking you! Thanks to this battle, Pupitar Evolved!" he said.

"Well, either way, I still appreciate the battle, and the advice that you gave me. I hope to meet you again soon," Nando said, then he turned and headed to the Pokecenter which was up ahead.

Ash first turned to Dawn. "Okay, so what did you learn from the two battles?" he asked.

"Well, I learned that Piplup has low endurance, which can be trained up, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yep, that's right," he said.

"And, maybe I should have dodged the Solarbeam instead of having Piplup use Bide. It was a risky move, but it still worked, though I shouldn't count on that working the next time, should I?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. It was a brilliant counter, but you should raise his endurance to Grass type attacks before you do that again. You were pretty lucky that his Budew was new, and that it only Evolved right at the end, otherwise you would have been in big trouble, since Piplup was barely standing when he won," Ash instructed.

She nodded. "Okay, I'll train really hard! Can your Pokémon help mine with that, please?" she asked, giving him a begging look.

He smiled. "Sure. I'll have one of my Grass types come over and they can help. Hmm, maybe Ivysaur would be best for that. He knows how to restrain himself," he said.

She smiled brightly. "Thank you, Ash!" she said.

He nodded. "No problem. Now, what else?" he asked.

She frowned. "Well, I noticed that Piplup was throwing himself to attack, just hoping that he would hit, but doing it that way could leave him open for attack, so I need to train that out of him," she said.

He nodded in approval. "Well spotted. And what about my battle?" he asked.

"Um, well, you chose a Pokémon with a type advantage," she said.

"Right, but remember that type advantage means nothing when the opponent has a move that your Pokémon is weak to, such as his Swablu knowing Ice Beam. Pupitar could have been in big trouble if that had hit," Ash said.

She nodded. "Right. Uh, you countered Mist by using a move that would benefit you," she said.

He nodded. "Right, just don't expect it to always work, because some Pokémon have Abilities that clear the Weather, no matter what Weather attack that you're using, such as Cloud Nine, which Psyduck regularly have," he said.

She absorbed that. "Okay, that's good to know. You then used Rock Throw to pelt Swablu with rocks while she couldn't see where you were, but she countered with Sing, which is an auditory attack, and so can't be blocked with a regular attack," she said.

He nodded again, glad to see that she had been paying attention and was finding the information in the battle. "That's true. However, other auditory attacks, such as Hyper Voice, or Disarming Voice, can counter Sing, by making the two noises clash. Also, Abilities such as Vital Spirit, or Insomnia, will keep the Pokémon awake no matter what," he said.

She smiled. "Thanks! Okay, you seemed pretty lucky with the Evolution though. Or did you plan that?" she asked.

"No, I was lucky. There was a chance that he wouldn't have woken up until he was almost finished, even with my asking him to wake up. His Evolution came just in time though, as it's impossible to stay asleep when you Evolve. However, you can't always count on a sudden Evolution to save you, so I'd suggest to carry a Poké Flute around, just in case. This was a lesson for me to do that as well. Now, you hit all the main points, so good job. Now, let's go get our Pokémon healed. There's a Pokecenter up ahead. It says so on my GPS," Ash said, turning around and leading them away.

III

While their Pokémon were getting healed, Dawn had called her mom and had introduced her to Ash and Brock.

"Ash is my Mentor, Mom! Isn't that great?" Dawn asked, grinning.

Johanna smiled at Ash. "Thank you so much for taking great care of my daughter. My Dawn has a knack for getting into trouble, so I appreciate you looking out for her!" she said.

Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "There's no need to thank me, Mrs. Berlitz! I guess that I feel protective of her since the Ariados incident," he said.

She looked worried. "What Ariados incident? Dawn never told me about that!" she said.

Dawn sighed. "Here we go," she said.

"Dawn, I know that you don't want to make your mom worry, but she has the right to know that you almost got really hurt," Brock said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Ash nodded. "Brock's right, Dawn. I don't want to make my mom worry, and she has a lot of reason to worry, but I still tell her about all of my adventures, because she deserves to know," he said.

Dawn nodded, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Mom. See, the thing is, when I went to get my Starter, Piplup and Chimchar had a fight and they ran off into the woods. I went to go search for them, and I found Piplup in a web. Well, I managed to free Piplup and the other Pokémon caught in the web, but I only made the Ariados angry, so they came after me and Piplup. We'd thought that we lost them, when they found us again. Piplup used Bide to protect me, but he was worn out, so when a second wave of Ariados came, we thought that we were goners. Luckily, Ash heard my screams and he came to my protection, defeating the Ariados, then escorting me back to Prof. Rowan's Lab. On the way, I told him that I wanted to be a Coordinator and he offered to be my Mentor!" she said, smiling at the end.

Johanna smiled. "Well, that's pretty lucky! Thank you again, Ash, Brock. So, Ash, are you a Coordinator then?" she asked.

"Not full time. Most of the time I'm a regular Trainer," he answered.

"But you're experienced in Contests?" she asked.

"Sure am. I tied with my friend, May, in the Grand Festival in Kanto," Ash said.

She snapped her fingers. "So _that's_ why you look familiar! I remember you now! I was watching that Grand Festival a few months back, and I have to say that I'm very impressed! Dawn, you have a fine Mentor here. He can show you the ropes in both Contests and regular Battles. Now, I have to go. Don't get into any trouble!" she said.

"No need to worry!" Dawn reassured.

Johanna sighed. "Whenever you say that is when I worry the most! Ash, Brock, _please_ take care of her!" she said.

"We will!" they said, smiling.

Johanna smiled back. "Thank you! Bye," she said, then the screen went blank.

Dawn scowled. "I can take care of myself!" she muttered.

"Yeah, but you don't have to. We're here for you, so you don't have to go through anything alone," Ash said, smiling.

"Ash is right. That's what comrades are for!" Brock told her with a smile.

She smiled back. "Thanks, you two!" she said, feeling happy.

"Well, now that our Pokémon are healed, why don't we train for a bit before dinner?" Ash asked, looking at the sky through a window. There seemed to be about two hours left of good sunlight, so that would do.

"Yeah, okay!" Dawn said, standing up.

"Sure. I'll train Bonsly today, Ash. I'd like to see exactly how far in his training he is, from a viewpoint other than just watching," Brock said.

Ash nodded. "That's not a problem. He's your Pokémon, afterall, not mine," he said.

With that, the trio, plus their Pokémon, went outside.

"Boss, what do you want me to train in today?" Meowth asked after everyone but him got their training orders.

"Today we're going to work on how to use Payday, and how to infuse your coins with electricity so that you can possibly paralyze your opponent, or at least do extra harm," Ash said.

Meowth nodded. "Okay, works for me!" he said, ready to give it his all.

III

Two men walked into Prof. Rowan's Lab. One was older and had short black hair, the other was younger, about mid-thirties and had long silver hair.

Prof. Rowan walked over to them with a frown. "Hello, may I help you?" he asked.

"Yes. We were wondering if you knew which way Ash went?" the man with silver hair asked.

"I do, but why do you want to know? Who are you?" Prof. Rowan asked.

"Well, he's my son. I'm Silver Ketchum, and this is my father," the sliver haired man said.

Prof. Rowan nodded. "I see. You do have a resemblance to him, so I will believe you for now. He headed in the direction of Jubilife City, though he shouldn't arrive there for another day at least," he said.

Silver smiled. "Thank you very much. I appreciate this," he said, then the two men left, the man with black hair never saying a word.

Both were anticipating their meeting with Ash and they couldn't wait to see him again.

III

 **How do you all like the way he handled Paul? What about the way he's mentoring Dawn? How about the insight into his relationship with his Pokemon?** **Tell me all what you think!**

 **If anyone can guess who the man with Silver is, I'll let you know one thing about any future chapters that you want to ask!**

 **Good luck, and as always, if you have an idea for the story, I will consider it.**

 **Aisu.**


End file.
